Wanted
by LalaMoped
Summary: The Desert Bandits are the most feared people in all of Oto, until they are separated. Now Temari must escape Konoha, find her brothers, and get her revenge, all without falling in love with a young tribesman. A ShikaTema Western. AU
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** My goodness, it's been a while since I've been here in the editor section. Good times, good times. Anyway, here's my new multichapter fic. Enjoy!  
**Disclaimer:** Naruto is the property of Kishimoto Masashi and TV Tokyo. I don't own it. All I own are shattered dreams! -cry-

* * *

**Wanted  
****Chapter 1:**

The Oto settlements were fairly peaceful for those who followed the laws of the land baron, Orochimaru. So long as the people served him steadfastly, they had hope of seeing a bright and prosperous future. Little did they know, Orochimaru was not all that he promised to be.

Orochimaru was a sickly, pale man with a wicked soul and ambitions to match. Having reached a seat of power through the monopolization of land and resources, he craved only one other thing: eternal life. A desire that had only increased as his health deteriorated.

"Lord Orochimaru," called a voice from his door. "It is time for your medicine."

Orochimaru extended a skeletal hand, waving the young doctor in. "Come in, Kabuto." Kabuto approached him easily, setting his tray of supplies on the table beside his master, before proceeding to mix ghastly-smelling powders into a green liquid.

"How do you feel today?" Kabuto asked absently, pouring the mixture from his bowl into a teacup and handing it over to the older man.

Orochimaru took the cup, then gave him a stern look. "How do you suppose I feel?"

Kabuto bowed his head, "Forgive me. It's customary to ask, regardless." Orochimaru grunted and drank the vile concoction, already used to its unpleasant taste.

"The ones who call this The Romantic Death are mistaken," he rasped, appalled that any man would wish Consumption upon himself. He all but threw the cup back at Kabuto and collapsed back onto his bed, hissing between his teeth at the burning pain in his chest.

Kabuto silently wiped the sweat from Orochimaru's brow, then pulled his quilt back up over his torso.

"Have you found it yet?" Orochimaru snapped suddenly.

Kabuto didn't need specifications as to what 'it' was; Orochimaru asked for the same thing every day. "There are rumors," Kabuto began slowly, "That the northern lands of the Konoha tribe have something similar to what you seek, My Lord."

"Have you sent out a unit?" When Kabuto hesitated, Orochimaru peered at him through the darkness. "Well?!"

"Yes, sir."

"And?"

Kabuto moved to the fireplace and threw another log in, coaxing the embers into a blaze. "It would seem that they have been… Eradicated."

"By _them_?" Orochimaru spat venomously.

Kabuto pushed his glasses up his nose and nodded, "It would seem." Orochimaru would have shook with fury if he had had the strength to.

"Double the reward money," he suddenly demanded. "I don't care what it takes; I want _them_ dead."

"Yes, sir." With that, Kabuto left Orochimaru alone in his chamber.

* * *

"Double?"

Kabuto nodded, unaffected. "That is the order."

Zaku seemed to blanch further. "That's crazy!"

"Did anyone ask your opinion?" Kabuto bit back, making the young officer bite his tongue.

"No, sir. I'll see to it that Orochimaru's will is done."

"Good. Dismissed!" Kabuto took a second to enjoy watching Zaku running away before continuing on with his other duties. There was always some satisfaction in seeing the lower members of Orochimaru's ranks squirm. Still in a good mood from his little power trip, he whistled on his way to assemble a new team to send to Konoha.

Within hours, new posters were being printed, in which a large fortune was being offered for four outlaws known as The Desert Bandits; wanted, dead or alive.

* * *

The siblings of the sand, Gaara the Demon, Kankurou the Grave Robber and Tornado Temari, and their caretaker, One-eyed Baki were the very reason the notorious Suna pass was so notorious. The Suna pass was the most direct route between Oto and the Konoha forests, where most of the food and lumber came from. Thanks to The Desert Bandits, most people were afraid to venture into the barren territory that the four had claimed as their own.

"Would you look at that," jeered the black-clad middle sibling with a grin. "You see what I see, Temari?"

Temari peered down into the canyon below, where a carriage was making its way through at a fast pace. They probably thought that going fast would get them through unnoticed, when all it did was kick up more dust. She smirked to herself and looked over her shoulder at her youngest brother.

"What do you think, Gaara?"

"Kill them," Gaara said emotionlessly, pulling out his long barreled revolver and climbing up onto his horse. He didn't bother to wait for either of his siblings before taking off.

Kankurou brandished his two repeating pistols and fired a few times just for the fun of it. "Don't take too long! You'll miss all the fun!" he called back over his shoulder at his sister as he rode off after Gaara.

Temari grunted in annoyance at his immaturity, pulling out her rifle and climbing up onto her own horse. "I'd better make sure they don't do anything stupid," she muttered. "Do you mind watching camp?"

Baki shook his head and waved her on. "I don't mind. You'd better hurry along before it's over."

Without a second look, Temari did as she was told, easily catching up with her brothers. They rode in a triangular formation, Gaara in front with the older two in back, until they caught up with the buggy. The first thing to do was to stop it, and that meant deciding if the horses were worth anything, and if not, killing them. Kankurou pulled out his bowie knife and cut the horses free, then herded them to a halt a short ways away.

Gaara had long since shot the driver, so all that remained was disposing of any passengers. This seemed to be a cargo wagon, though, giving them one less step to reach their goal. Once the carriage had come to a stop, the three of them opened it up to evaluate their bounty.

"I hope it's food," Kankurou said, pulling one of the wood crates out and prying it open with the edge of his knife. Once it was open, they crowded around to get a look inside.

"Hay?" Temari hummed, confused. "Why would they be shipping hay in crates?"

Kankurou shrugged, digging through. "Maybe it's to pack in something valuable."

Gaara straitened and gave his sister a look, which she returned. They were both thinking the same thing: it didn't make any sense.

Temari caught a gleam out of the corner of her eye just in time to dodge the bullet that was fired at her. Her brothers acted at the same time as her, and the three of them took cover behind the wagon.

"Shit!" Kankurou cursed, "An ambush! I knew it."

Temari would have rolled her eyes, "I'm sure!"

Gaara, Kankurou, and Temari exchanged fire with their attackers, but it was quickly becoming obvious that they were severely outnumbered.

"Where is Baki?" Temari asked to no one in particular. She wasn't surprised when she didn't get an answer.

"I'm out of ammo," Gaara said, holstering his gun.

"Where is your extra?" Kankurou asked, reloading his second pistol.

Gaara crouched further below the wagon, "With my horse."

Temari and Kankurou gave matching groans at that, casting helpless glances in the direction that their horses had all run off in after being spooked by the gunfire.

"It's not so bad," Temari tried, "We've gotten out of tighter scrapes than this, right?"

Kankurou shook his head, putting away his second gun, now also out of ammo. "I don't think so, Temari."

Temari ignored his comment, getting a clear shot at one of the enemies and pulling the trigger, only to get the disheartening click of an empty chamber. She cursed loudly and joined her brothers below the cart.

"We're sunk."

"Well there has to be _something_ we can do!" Temari grit her teeth in concentration, but it was hard to think when it felt like the world was crumbling around her.

The group of Orochimaru's men had begun to descend upon them, noticing their cease in fire. They scaled the cliff carefully, taking turns so that there was always someone pointing a gun at The Desert Bandits. They were unlike any of Orochimaru's other troops. They were efficient and organized.

Gaara rolled into a crouch and prepared to sprint. "On my mark," he said.

"What are we going to do? Hope that they stop shooting long enough for us to get close enough to hit them?!" Kankurou balked.

Temari shifted to do as Gaara told her, "What else can we do?"

"You're both crazy!" Regardless of his own protests, Kankurou also prepared to run at the enemy despite his gut instinct to run _away_ from the gunshots.

Gaara's deep breathing told his brother and sister than he was counting. Preparing. Calculating when the best moment to move was. The troops got closer, and through the pounding in their ears, Temari and Kankurou heard their younger brother's usually quiet voice cry out.

"Go!"

All at once, the three of them took off for the closest enemies, taking them down with close-range weapons and just barely managing to not get shot. They went on to the next wave of men, once again killing this group but lacking the element of surprise from the first wave. There was a lot of blood, and nobody could really be sure who's it was at any one moment.

They had reduced their enemies by half, showing them all just _why_ the three of them were considered such deadly forces. Just when it looked like they might have some hope of getting out of their predicament alive, Kankurou stopped in his tracks, yowling in pain and clutching at his stomach.

While it wasn't in Gaara's nature to stop for anyone, even his own brother, Temari was unable to go on knowing that one of her baby brothers was about to die. Without much thought, she reeled back and was at Kankurou's side in a matter of seconds. From then, everything seemed to go in slow motion. Kankurou was yelling that he was fine, and that she should keep going. A few yards off, Gaara was tearing into another enemy. At the same time, one of the Oto soldiers (a redheaded girl, Temari would later be able to recall) took aim. And in that moment, all Temari could hear was her own heartbeat pounding in her ears.

The redhead took her shot, hitting Temari in the shoulder, before she quickly fell back to avoid shots from somewhere behind Temari, using one of her own as a human shield. The next thing Temari knew, Baki was lifting Kankurou up onto the only horse they had left and demanding that she take him and get to the Konoha forests.

Baki was battered and bloody, and Temari could tell that he had already been through a battle of his own before coming to save them. She allowed herself to be hastily thrown up onto the horse with her semi-conscious brother, before grabbing the reigns and taking off toward the north. The last thing she heard was Baki commanding Gaara to retreat as well, then it was all quiet besides the wind whipping past her ears and her own ragged breaths as she tried not to feel the pain of the wound in her shoulder.

The horse, suffering from injuries of its own, collapsed shortly after they entered the thick of the forest, and Temari did her best to stop Kankurou's bleeding. The skin around his wound was turning a strange purple color and she was quickly losing consciousness herself. Her last thought before she blacked out was how sorry she was that she couldn't save her brothers… Again.

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**A/N:** Review if you want to. I understand that everyone is busy, so I won't demand that I get reviews.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

Temari stirred against her will, wanting nothing more than to spend a bit longer in the abyss of oblivion. At least there, she didn't have to feel the throbbing in her shoulder, or smell the strange odor… Her mind paused. What _exactly_ was that she was smelling? It was a little sweet and spicy all at once, and not at all unpleasant.

"I think she's coming to," a voice said, and Temari cracked an eye open to get a look at who it belonged to.

There were three girls, probably not much younger than Temari, sitting around her. She blinked up at them, and they blinked back, but nobody said anything. Grunting with the effort, Temari managed to sit up, making the three girls scurry back a little ways.

"Let's start with the basics," Temari said efficiently. "Where am I?"

"Among the Konoha Tribe," answered the girl with brown hair.

"How long have I been out?"

Next, the blonde answered, "A day."

Now in the process of gathering her bearings, Temari was able to prioritize her thoughts. The most important thing jumped out quickly. "Where is Kankurou?!"

"Kankurou?" asked the blonde to the brunette.

The third girl, who had yet to speak, piped in timidly, "Her c-companion, maybe?"

"Oh yeah," the brunette nodded to herself. "I had forgotten about him…"

"Well? Where is he?!" Temari asked again.

"We can take you to him," the blonde girl offered, then smiled and held a bundle towards Temari. "But you might want to put this on, first."

At this point, Temari noticed that all that was covering her was her blanket and some bandages. If she had been more ladylike, she might have blushed, but as it was, all she did was grab what was offered to her and hurriedly throw it on. Only after the fact, did she question the garment. It was a basic wraparound dress made from woven yarn, which matched what the other girls were wearing. Temari could hardly remember the last time she had worn a dress, but didn't dwell on it in her rush to see her brother.

The three girls led her to a hut a short distance away, chatting amongst themselves as they went. Temari couldn't hear what they were saying, but she had a sneaking suspicion that they were talking about her. In fact, it seemed that everyone they passed was interested in her. She'd never been stared at with such awe before. Fear--terror, even--but never awe.

"Here we are," the blonde announced, holding open the flap that served as a door. Without sparing the girl a second glance, Temari rushed inside.

There, she saw Kankurou lying on a mat, with a pink-haired girl rubbing something into his wound. Once the pinkette was finished with her work, she turned to give Temari a look.

"How do you feel?"

Temari rotated her shoulder blade gingerly. "I've had worse. It takes more than a little bullet to kill me," she boasted.

The pink-haired girl smiled back. "What about poison?"

"Poison?"

The girl nodded, "I'm afraid you had to be the test subject for the antidote. Your wound was in a less critical place."

"That's fine," Temari said, wholeheartedly meaning it. She'd take the gamble for the sake of one of her brothers any day. "What kind of poison are we talking about?"

"The bullets were coated in it. I'm not completely sure what it is yet, but its effect was similar to snake venom."

Temari nearly spat. There was only one _snake_ that she could think of. She pressed on, "So he'll be okay, right?"

The girl nodded, green eyes flashing confidently. "He'll be fine. A few days more rest, and he may even be up and moving," she said.

Temari sighed in relief, examining her brother's face, which had been cleaned of his customary face paint since she had last seen him. She wasn't given much time to dwell on how fortunately things had turned out in comparison to had badly they might have ended had the Konoha not come to their aid, because the blonde was speaking to her once more.

"I don't mean to rush you, but now that you're awake, Lady Tsunade wants to see you."

Temari hummed, "Lady Tsunade?"

"She's our leader. And she's very interested in knowing who you are."

Temari shrugged. "It doesn't seem like I have much of a choice, then," she observed, moving to follow her three original escorts out of her brother's hut. This time, the girls led her further into the heart of the village, where a larger cabin stood in the center. The four went inside, where an older woman was slouched over a stack of dog-eared books, going through their contents.

"Lady Tsunade," the brown-haired girl called gently. "We've brought her like you asked."

Tsunade looked up, startled for a moment, before standing purposefully and examining Temari. The two women stared one another down for a few seconds, silently willing the other to speak first. In the end, Temari lowered her gaze civilly, figuring that it would be best to swallow her pride while these people held her brother's life in their hands.

When Tsunade spoke, her words were clipped and to the point. "I am Tsunade, Hokage of Konoha," she said.

"I'm--"

"I know who you are," Tsunade interrupted, pulling a crumpled paper from within her stack of books. She held it up for Temari to get a look, and Temari instantly recognized it as one of the numerous wanted posters with her and her brothers' faces printed on them; their prices had gone up, though, she noted with some pride.

"That is why I can not allow you to roam freely in my village," Tsunade continued. "I will have one of our young men watch over you. Tenten, fetch Neji of the Hyuuga."

"He's away on his first hunt," The brown-haired girl supplied.

"Then Sasuke of the Uchiha," Tsunade tried.

The blonde girl folded her hands, "He's also on his first hunt--the ceremony, remember?"

Tsunade nodded, then. "So the only men who aren't on the hunt are…"

"Most of the veteran tribesmen, and… Well, the _failures_."

"Oh, yes," Tsunade muttered, seeming regretful. "Any one of them will do," she decided, then added as the girls hurried out of her cabin, "Except Naruto."

Now Temari was left alone with Tsunade, making her a little uncomfortable. She hadn't been in the presence of anyone whom she felt had any authority over her since her father had been murdered. Luckily, it didn't take long for the girls to find whichever loser Temari would be stuck with until Kankurou came to and they could go look for Gaara and Baki.

She eyed him up while Tsunade explained the situation. He had dark hair and eyes, and a lean build. He dressed the same as all of the other men in the village, which made him scantily clad by the standards of what Temari was used to; and he was young, but Temari couldn't quite pin down an exact age. Like both of her brothers, he was in that stage where a boy could become a man in a matter of months, so she guessed he was somewhere between Gaara's age and Kankurou's.

He turned and regarded her for a moment, then shrugged and looked back to Tsunade. He could already tell that looking after the outlaw would be a pain, but he dared not refuse the task. He was already in hot water over not qualifying for the coming-of-age hunt, and the last thing he needed was for his mother to start nagging him something else.

Tsunade continued explaining who Temari was and why she needed constant supervision, while Shikamaru waited patiently for her to finish, despite the fact that he wasn't really listening. When she was finally done, Shikamaru nodded to agree with whatever she had just said, and silently thanked any deity that was listening when he was dismissed. All he really wanted was to go back to his favorite cloud-watching spot.

Temari hesitated a moment when her guide turned on his heel and left the cabin, before hurriedly following him out. She trailed behind him for a few minutes before she grew too irritated to keep quiet any longer.

"Are you planning on saying anything to me?" she snapped.

He paused, glancing over his shoulder at her. "What do you want me to say?"

She glowered at his sarcastic tone, then decided to ask the question that had been nagging at her since she first saw him. "How old are you?"

He started, thrown off by her question. All his life, he had always been able to predict the outcome of everything. As a child, he had assumed that everyone had this ability, but it became apparent, as he watched the people around him interact, that they couldn't. It was probably the reason he didn't have many friends; the excitement of talking to another person, of wondering what they would say next, had never been present for him. The garbled redundancy of every conversation he had ever had was always present in his mind, and he never had to worry much about listening to the people around him. Until right then, when she had mixed up the entire order of their conversation by starting with his age rather than his name, or his home, or his hobbies… Well, perhaps age _did_ come before the latter two, but _still_..

Her eyes narrowed at him. "I just told you what I want you to say," she pointed out. "Answer the damn question."

He turned and continued on his way with a snort. "Old enough," he answered cryptically.

"Oh. So you're just a kid, then."

"_What?_" He stared at her, dumbfounded. She had done it again.

She smirked in satisfaction. "If you were a grown man, you would just say your age. Only kids try to make themselves sound older than they really are."

"I wasn't trying to sound older. I just don't see the need for you to know every little thing about me."

"I don't think your age is a minute detail. But if you're so keen on keeping it to yourself, I'll just have to guess, won't I?" She pursed her lips in mock thought, then, and he nearly stumbled watching her. Any other woman in the village would have already given up on the subject, he was sure.

"You're… twelve?" she guessed, and he snorted again. "Right," she teased, "You _are_ taller than me, after all. Then sixteen, maybe?"

"Fifteen," he admitted, bashful for reasons he could not fathom. He changed the subject quickly, though. "I'm Shikamaru of the Nara family."

"I'm Temari."

He raised a skeptical eyebrow and she smiled sadly.

"You give up a lot of things when you choose the other side."

For the third time, he didn't know what to say, and they found themselves in an awkward silence. The subject finally changed when they reached a gathering of huts that made up the Nara family housing.

"Uh. This way," he muttered, leading her to one near the back of the cluster, nearest to the forest edge. He held the flap open, and she entered silently.

Inside, there were three bedrolls laid out on the right side, a support beam in the middle of the single room, and then a crude wood table and a fireplace with a chimney to the left.

"I know it's not much, but a cousin of mine just got married, so we haven't got a, empty place at the moment," he said, going to a chest across from the door, on the other side of the pillar. He pulled out an extra bedroll and went to setting it out with the others. "You'll have to stay here with my parents and me."

"How often can I see my brother?"

He stopped what he was doing and glanced at her. "I'll take you to visit him every morning, if Sakura allows it."

"And Sakura is…?"

Finished with his duty, he stood and walked back to where she stood, waiting. "Sakura is Lady Tsunade's apprentice, and one of the best medicine women on this side of Oto."

"The pink-haired one?"

Shikamaru only nodded and gestured that she follow him back outside. "I'll have to introduce you to everyone tomorrow. For today, I'm going to go back to doing what I was before you came."

"And what's that?" she asked, glaring at his back.

He stopped at a tree, just inside the line of foliage, sitting down and reclining against it. "Napping," he answered.

She snorted, but sat down beside him anyway. If she had to put up with this little punk for a while, it was worth it to have Kankurou healed; but after that, the siblings would steal a couple of the villager's horses and make a run for the deserts again. She looked back over at Shikamaru, who now had his eyes closed as if he really were sleeping. With another snort, Temari followed suit, thinking of what she and Kankurou would do to Orochimaru if they couldn't find their baby brother.

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**A/N:** Once again, reviews are loved, but not necessary.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

Temari stared up at the ceiling for a moment once she awoke. It took her a minute to recall where she was, but once she had remembered, she sat up and looked around the little hut.

"Did you sleep well?" Asked Shikamaru's mother, Yoshino, upon seeing their guest up and moving.

Temari blinked at the woman and lied, "Yeah. Thanks." Then the smell of what Yoshino was cooking caught her attention, and her stomach rumbled noisily.

Yoshino giggled, extending a bowl of food toward the girl. "Hungry?"

Temari took it and devoured it greedily. Just as it had been the night before, Yoshino's cooking was amazing. The Nara matriarch definitely could have taught her a thing or two, Temari admitted to herself. Finally finishing and handing the tableware back to the dark-haired woman, Temari inquired after Shikamaru.

"He's out doing his chores," Yoshino told her. "He complained the whole way out, but he went--I can _assure_ you." Temari couldn't help but laugh; she liked this woman more and more. Yoshino grinned back at her and shooed her out with a little wave. "Make sure he's not napping instead of working," she said.

Temari wandered out, moving around the Nara family compound until she found the clearing where the deer (and incidentally, Shikamaru) were. She went to approach, but paused when she heard him talking.

"Easy, Antinanco, you'll get yours," Shikamaru muttered, waving off a young buck. The buck continued to prod at Shikamaru's side until he gave in. The rest of the deer then swarmed him and he sighed.

"Look now. You've thrown off the whole pattern," the boy scolded. "Come on now," he said, moving through the group, "Moema and Nita are next, then Tamaya and Shikoba."

He fed each deer as he said their names, and after every deer had gotten a share of the feed that he carried, shooed them all off. "The rest is for Zyana and Isi. You all know that."

The herd cleared out a bit, and Shikamaru went over to the side of the clearing, where a fawn and a newborn foal rested. He first greeted the mother with a handful of feed and a pat on the head, then turned to the foal and regarded it with the same affections.

Temari couldn't help but smile. She hadn't thought he seemed like the type to really care about anyone or anything, but he had unwittingly just proven her wrong. With a happy sigh, she raised her face skyward placidly, feeling strangely uplifted just by his display. When she looked back at him, he was staring at her.

Shikamaru snapped his attention toward the noise behind him and saw his charge under the shade of a tree. His embarrassment only increased when she noticed him noticing her, and an awkward silence passed between the two of them. Shikamaru was half tempted to explain himself, but the other half of him wanted to ask why she had been spying on him. He had every right to be there, after all, and she had none. He was about to open his mouth, unsure of what exactly he intended to say, when she suddenly turned her head haughtily and demanded that she be taken to see her brother.

Shikamaru glared at her a moment. On the one hand, she wasn't allowed to leave without him, but on the other, she didn't have the authority to boss him around. However, it wasn't in his nature to argue with the women in his life, so he stomped forward and put his bucket of feed away, and lead her into the village, grumbling the whole way.

* * *

Temari didn't need directions to find where Kankurou was; she had been sure to commit it to memory the first time. Honestly, she'd have been happiest to go alone, but that was against the rules, which Temari had resigned herself to follow until the villagers no longer held any leverage. She tried not to seem too unhappy when she saw the pink-hared girl, Sakura, come out of Kankurou's temporary home, but she was certain she failed.

Shikamaru stopped in front of Sakura and they exchanged pleasantries. Then he told her that his mother had sent something with him for her, and Sakura accepted it gratefully.

"The Nara's cultivate the best medicines that the village has to offer," Sakura supplied to Temari, trying to include the outsider in their conversation. Temari wasn't sure how to respond, and was saved from having to think of something when Shikamaru spoke up.

"We were wondering if it's okay for her to see her brother every morning," he said.

Sakura bit her lip. "I'm not really supposed to let anyone in," she mumbled apologetically to Temari. "Lady Tsunade's orders…"

That was the last straw for Temari, though. Being escorted around like a criminal was acceptable, because that's what she was, and not being able to spend every waking moment with Kankurou was acceptable, because he _was_ injured, after all. But not seeing him at all? That was where she drew the line. Her brow furrowed and her lips pulled back in a snarl, she readied herself to fight anyone who would try to stop her from entering the hut, but Shikamaru grabbed her by the arm, bidding Sakura farewell as he pulled her away.

Once out of earshot, he turned to his struggling cargo. "You can't go around attacking medics--or anyone, for that matter," he said.

"Shut up!" she snapped, jerking her arm from his hold. "You have no idea what it's like, so just **shut up**."

"You're right," he conceded calmly. "I don't know what it's like. But I know what it _will_ be like if you actually hurt anybody." He turned and stopped her angry stride mid-step, "Would you rather be locked up? Or killed and turned in for your bounty? Because those are your only other options at this point."

"Fine, I get it!" Temari mocked scornfully, "You've all got me fixed, so what can I do about it?! Maybe you can make some unreasonable demands that I'll have no choice but to obey?"

"I didn't mean it like that."

Not getting an angry reaction back, Temari felt her fury fizzle a little. "I just…" She ground her teeth, "It's been me, and Kankurou, and Gaara for nine years, and now Gaara might be dead."

"I'm sorry." Shikamaru knew that it really didn't mean anything, especially coming from him, but it was all he could offer. He wasn't sure if he should be worried when she didn't say anything more.

"Shikamaru! Come here," called a familiar voice.

Shikamaru and Temari looked up and saw the blonde from the day before. This time, she was with a portly boy who appeared to be the same age.

"Chouji and I were just about to have lunch," she went on. "Lucky we found you, huh?"

Shikamaru responded with a longsuffering sigh and turned to Chouji. "What kind of lunch are we talking about?"

Chouji grinned, "My mom made it." It was a well-known fact that Chouji's mother was the best cook in the whole village--there was a reason her husband and son were both so rotund.

Shikamaru turned to Temari. "Hungry?" he asked, to which she responded with a small smile and a nod. At that, the four wandered out of the busy street and into the outskirts, where a beautiful garden danced in the breeze. They pulled out the packs that Chouji's mother had sent with them, and all sat down for their picnic.

"This is my family's garden," the blonde informed Temari. "We supply Konoha with all of their flowers."

"I wouldn't think that would be a very prosperous business," Temari pointed out. "Seeing how accessible flowers are around here."

"True, but do you know what the flowers mean? Or how to put them together so that their scents all mix well and no one overpowers the others? Or--"

"Okay, Ino. I think we get it," Shikamaru interrupted, making the girl glare at him.

Ino was quick to bounce back, though. "So you're Tornado Temari, the infamous desert bandit?" she asked, eyes gleaming in fascination. "What's it like?"

"Hot and dry," Temari answered easily, eating some unknown thing and deciding that she liked it very much.

"Not the desert. I meant being a bandit."

Temari shrugged, "It's not so bad at first, but then you get a few headhunters after you, and it gets pretty scary."

Shikamaru stood then, "I just remembered that there's something my mother wanted me to do. Do you guys mind keeping Temari company for a few minutes?"

"Wait. Why can't I just come with you?"

Shikamaru looked down at Temari, then quickly blushed and looked away, cursing himself for suddenly noticing what color her eyes were. "Just stay here," he barked. "It's just a boring errand."

"Well fine! I didn't want to come, anyway."

"Good, because I didn't want you to," he retorted, walking away.

"Good!" she yelled after him.

Chouji laughed lightly. "Don't take it too hard. Shikamaru likes his space."

"Well he can have all the space he wants, because I don't want anything to do with him. From what I can gather, I only have to put up with him long enough for this what's-it-called hunt thing to end and then I won't be stuck with Tsunade's last resort."

"I've never really gotten it," Ino said. "It seems to me that sending all of the young men out with the best veterans leaves the village really vulnerable. If we're attacked, the only people to defend us are the old, retired guys like our dads, and the failures--no offense, Chouji."

"None taken."

"So this hunt is really important, then?" Temari asked.

Ino nodded, "It's tradition. When the boys reach a certain age--usually between fourteen and sixteen, but exceptions have been made--they take a final test, and if they pass it, they are allowed to participate in the hunt. If they return from the hunt with a kill of any kind, they are recognized as men within the village. The bigger the kill, though, the more eligible for marriage he is.

"On the rare occasion that someone doesn't make a kill, he has to join the failures and wait for the next year's group."

Temari raised an eyebrow, "So this whole thing is about getting married?"

"Yep. It's a lot easier for the girls. We just have to wait for Shizune--that's the matchmaker--to pick one of the guys from the hunt for us. Shizune's retiring soon, though. I'd take her job, but then I wouldn't get to get married."

"Let me get this straight. Boys go on this hunt to become men, after which this matchmaker tell them who they have to marry?" Temari asked. At Ino's nod she sighed. "Why would you want to go on the hunt, then?"

"Exactly," Chouji muttered. "Shikamaru and I weren't very good students, but it was a silly thing to compete for anyway."

"What if you never complete the hunt, then? You _must_ become a man at some point."

Ino waved her hands in the air, stunned that anyone was criticizing the marital system. "Well, yeah, but he can never get married! Like Shikamaru, for example. If he never is recognized as a man in the traditional sense, he can never get married, and then who will take care of the deer?"

"He's got seven cousins, all of which are married," Temari interjected.

"But they're all girls."

Temari backtracked, "Wait. _What?_"

"I leave you alone for five minutes, and you're already in another fight?"

Temari looked over to see Shikamaru approaching and scoffed. "I wasn't fighting. I was asking why girls can't do things that boys can."

"Because girls aren't expected to prove themselves as women, and boys have to jump through hoops just to be considered men," Shikamaru answered. "There's give and take in every society, Temari. We learn to live with it."

Temari opened her mouth to argue some more, but Shikamaru was already in the middle of saying goodbye to his friends and once more dragging her along behind him.

"Where are we going now?" she asked, giving up on the gender debate for the moment.

"We're going to see my father. He works in information, so he might have heard about your Gaara."

"He's not _my_ Gaara, he's _my brother_ Gaara."

Shikamaru twitched irritably, "_Regardless_, don't you want to know if he's popped up anywhere?" Temari mumbled a little, but decided it was best to keep her mouth shut for a while.

It didn't take long for the tower near the village entrance to come into view, and even less time after that for them to be climbing the ladder up to where Shikamaru's father was stationed. Once there, Shikamaru told Temari to wait for him to speak to his father a moment before she joined the conversation, and he moved the few feet to stand next to his father, where they spoke quietly amongst themselves. After a few minutes, though, Shikamaru beckoned her closer.

"This is my father, Shikaku," Shikamaru said. Temari greeted Shikaku pleasantly, having not met him the night before when she had met Yoshino.

"I'm sorry to hear about your brother," Shikaku said, keeping his eyes on the horizon as was his job. "I'll be sure to keep an ear out for any word of him from any of the other watches."

"Thank you. And if it isn't too much, there's one other person I'd like to know about."

Shikaku nodded, "One-eyed Baki?"

"Yes. Something hasn't already happened to him, has it?" Temari fidgeted nervously, already beating herself up for not being better prepared all those days ago.

"No. But if something comes through, I'll be sure to get word to you."

Temari tried not to sound too grateful, "Thank you." After that, there was nothing left to say, and Shikamaru and Temari left, returning to the Nara's home for washing up and dinner.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

Temari grumbled, angry with the sun. For as long as she could remember, she had fit into the 'not a morning person' category, and it wasn't likely to change any time soon. Giving up on getting back to sleep, she finally sat up and looked around. Apparently the Naras trusted her enough to leave her alone now.

There was a bowl of food on the table, which Temari had no choice but to assume was for her because, for one, she was hungry, and two, it was there. She'd never noticed how lonely eating could be when you didn't have someone to talk to while doing it. She hurried to finish so that she wouldn't have to feel the unpleasant sensation much longer, then as an afterthought, washed her bowl so that Yoshino wouldn't have to.

It was a beautiful day outside. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and a playful breeze made the trees dance. There was still dew on the grass, and Temari had to resist slipping out of her boots to feel it between her toes. She hadn't done such a thing since before her father had died and she and her brothers had been driven out of their home. She shook her head, determined not to let scars of the past ruin the lovely day.

Temari started in the direction that she knew Shikamaru to be in, but paused after only a step. This was her chance. She could steal a horse from someone's stable and get Kankurou out of here. Awake or not, he was bound to come to soon, and then they could start their search for Gaara and Baki. She played with the hem of her dress, lost in contemplation. Getting away from this place was definitely a priority, but she didn't know if she could betray their trust like that. Shikamaru and his parents had been so kind to her, and even if just for their sake, she owed it to them to show a little more loyalty. _But_, nagged a voice, the longer you stay, the more dangerous this place becomes. In the end, rationality won out over her heart, and she turned to find Kankurou, but a voice stopped her.

"Oh good, you're awake," drawled Shikamaru, having just finished with his chores. "You ate, right?"

Afraid that she'd been caught in the act and he was on to her, all she could do was nod stiffly.

"Okay," he said, walking away. "Come on, then."

She watched him, dumbfounded, then hurried to catch up. "Where are we going?"

"Just follow me."

"You can't tell me what to do," Temari pouted.

He shrugged, "You have other choices."

"Oh, this again?!"

"I meant you can stay home!"

"Oh. Well…" She fumbled sheepishly, "It gets lonely, you know?" He didn't say anything, which was probably best in the long run.

When she realized where they were going, her mood turned sunny again. Kankurou's hut came into view, and she all but ran to it. She stopped at the door and looked at Shikamaru.

"Are you sure it's okay?" she asked.

He nodded, "Go on in."

Temari was so thrilled, she could have hugged him right then and there, but she restrained herself from doing so and instead hustled in to her brother. Kankurou looked up when he realized that he had a visitor and gasped at seeing her.

"Temari?"

"Kankurou!" she smiled and hugged him in a rare display of affection among their family.

He looked her over. "You're okay."

"I'm fine," she assured him. "How do you feel?"

"Better. Not great," he admitted, "But better."

Temari put a hand on his forehead. "Give it time," she advised. "You'll be better in no time."

"Where's Gaara?"

She bit her lip, "I don't know." He seemed to want to say something, but she went on, "Konoha has agreed to help look for him, and when you're better, the two of us will go back to the desert and look if he hasn't been found by then."

"And Baki?"

"Same."

Kankurou looked away, frowning. "I should have…"

"I know. I've been thinking the same thing." She put a hand on his shoulder, "But we can't change the past, and beating ourselves up over it won't get Gaara or Baki back."

Just then, Sakura peeked in. "If you two are almost done, it's time for Kankurou's medicine, and then he needs his rest."

"Alright," Temari said, standing. "I'll be back to see you as soon as I can."

Kankurou nodded, lying back with some prompting from Sakura. "Okay. Take care of yourself, Temari," he said.

With a smile, she slipped out of the hut to give Sakura space and found Shikamaru waiting for her outside the door.

"I wonder what made her change her mind," Temari said absently, falling in step beside him. When Shikamaru didn't respond, she repeated herself, much louder this time.

"I heard you the first time," he muttered. "No need to make me deaf."

She grit her teeth, "Then why don't you answer?"

"Answer what?" he retorted. "You didn't ask a question, you made a statement."

"You are the _most_ infuriating boy I have ever met! I feel sorry for whichever poor soul gets stuck marrying you in this twisted society of yours!"

Shikamaru made an attempt to argue, but was cut short by Ino running up to them frantically.

"Come quick! There's something going on at the gate!" she cried, then turned on her heel and ran back the way she'd come. A moment passed where Shikamaru and Temari just looked at each other before they followed the girl.

As they came closer to the front gate, the noise of the people who crowded around could be heard. Temari tried to see through the sea of bodies, but they were too packed in to allow any visual inside. Out of the corner of her eye, Temari saw a streak of pink and looked up in time to see Sakura coming from the opposite direction, closely followed by a blond boy. She barely had to make her presence known for the crowd to part for her, and Ino, Shikamaru, and Temari took the opportunity to follow her in. Temari was actually very lucky that she ran into Shikamaru when they came to a suddenly halt, otherwise she'd have fallen over when she saw what the main attraction was.

Gaara stood there, with a Konoha girl on his back. He was dirty and a little bruised, but seemed fine. When Saukra told him she was a medic, he put the brown-haired girl down and stepped away so that Sakura could examine her.

"Gaara!" Temari called, causing him to turn to her with a startled look. All at once, he looked relieved, and then his mask was back in place as if he'd never felt anything at all.

"Temari? What are you doing here?"

She smiled in relief at seeing him alive and well. To be honest, despite how much she pretended that she knew he was alive somewhere, she had actually been preparing to mourn her baby brother. It was a nice surprise, to say the least. "Kankurou and I were poisoned," she told him. "But don't worry. The Konoha tribespeople helped us out, and now we're fine."

Meanwhile, Sakura was looking over the girl's ankle. "What happened?"

Matsuri tried to smile through her embarrassment. "I was out picking berries, and I left the trail," she confessed, feeling quite stupid. "I fell over a root, and hurt my leg. If Mister Gaara hadn't come along when he did, I'd be dead by now, I'm sure." Matsuri looked over at Gaara adoringly, "I owe him my life."

The redhead denied her claim, "Your people helped my siblings. You owe me nothing." At that, the girl looked away, blushing.

"You haven't seen Baki, have you?" Temari asked Gaara.

"Not since the ambush."

Sakura looked up and demanded that their audience go find something else to do with themselves. Then asked Ino to help her get Matsuri to the Medical tents. "Naruto," she added, "Take him"--a nod at Gaara--"to Lady Tsunade."

Naruto smiled wide and did as he was told, introducing himself to the two siblings in his presence, then asking that Gaara come along with him. Temari went to follow along, but Shikamaru stopped her.

"Where are you going?"

She fixed him with a determined looked, "I've spent the last five days thinking Gaara was dead. I'm not letting him go that easily." Shikamaru thought about it a moment, but decided that there was no proper argument for that, and in the end, walked beside her to Tsunade's cabin.

Tsunade listened carefully while Gaara retold the story that Matsuri had told Sakura. She bit her thumb thoughtfully, going over her options. Keeping one of the siblings at bay was hard enough, but now one brother had regained consciousness, and the other had resurfaced from whatever snake pit he had fallen into. It wouldn't have been so bad if all of their best warriors weren't out of the village for the ceremony.

"First of all," she began slowly, "I offer my sincerest thanks that you rescued one of our own. Unfortunately, you have a violent history and are, in principle, a danger to the village.

"This puts me in a tough place, however, because I don't want to have to lock you up, but we lack the manpower to make you… less dangerous, as it were."

"Ooh! Ooh! I'll do it, Granny Tsunade!" Naruto said suddenly, jumping up and waving an arm over his head. "Come on! You never let me do anything!"

Tsunade pursed her lips, looking between Naruto and Gaara a few times, then looking over at Shikamaru and Temari. When it became obvious that there was no way around it, Tsunade sighed.

"Fine," she relented, but held up an authoritative finger. "But you are not to take him into the woods and if I hear that you've pulled _even one_ prank, your mission will be revoked, and someone else will get the job while you scrub the floor of every home in this village. Do I make myself clear, Naruto?"

"Yes ma'am!"

"Alright. You're all dismissed," she said. "Naruto, tell Kiba Inuzuka that he is to look after Kankurou."

Naruto nodded in affirmation, and the four of them left. They were all quiet, besides Naruto, who told Gaara everything about the village as they went. It was hard to tell if Gaara was listening, but it was obvious that Shikamaru and Temari were not. Temari kept her eyes forward, but she was lost in thought, planning her and her brothers' escape and worrying that Baki hadn't made it out of the battle alive. Maybe there was some bastard, walking around with fifty-thousand dollars in his pockets and Baki's blood on his hands. She bit her lip and shook her head. It would do no good to think like that when there was still a chance that he was alive somewhere.

They reached the Inuzuka's land in a short period of time, where they were greeted by a pack of wolves. The wolves snarled at them at first, but made no move to come after any of them. Regardless, Temari found herself looking around the three boys she was walking with and wondering why they were all so calm about the rabid beasts that were currently eyeing them like they were dinner.

"That's enough. Back off, all of ya!" shouted another boy as he come from within the compound and shooed off all of the wolves aside from one that walked loyally at his side. "Hey, Naruto, Shikamaru. What are you guys doing here?"

Naruto set his face in an 'I'm serious' expression. "The Hokage sent me with a message for you," he said, trying to sound important.

"Stop talking like that!" Kiba snapped back at him. "What's the message?"

Naruto deflated. "Aw, you're no fun. Anyway, you're supposed to go to the Medical tents and stay there with the outlaw until Granny Tsunade tells you to stop."

"What?! No way! I spent months avoiding class so that I wouldn't have to take these missions!"

Shikamaru nodded solemnly, "I know what you mean."

"You… You two failed _on purpose_?!" Naruto shrieked, jabbing a finger in each of their directions.

"Anyway," Shikamaru went on, ignoring Naruto. "I'm going home. It's almost time for dinner."

"Okay," Temari said. "You go home, and I'll stay here with Gaara."

Shikamaru grabbed her wrist, "I have a better idea: I'll go home, and you'll come with me."

When Temari started flailing and Gaara got a murderous look in his eyes, Naruto had a rare moment of insightfulness. "How about we all have dinner together?" he suggested.

Somehow, dinner together ended up meaning _everyone_ was invited. It had started with Sakura having some excuse to work late, and Matsuri having to stay on account of her ankle, then Ino and Tenten had dragged Hinata along to pester Sakura, and Chouji had developed a sixth sense for all things involving food and used it to find them just as they were about to eat. Kankurou's hut was packed with more people than it probably should have been, but in the end, nobody really cared.

It was fairly late and everyone else had gone home by the time Shikamaru managed to coax Temari into leaving. The stars were bright and clear that night, and Shikamaru was able to pick out several constellations. Clouds were much more interesting to watch than stars in his opinion. Clouds were always changing, and the stars generally stayed the same.

"I know what you did."

He snapped his attention to her, startled. "What?"

She looked at him, and he wondered if it was the lighting, or if she was looking a little misty-eyed. "I know what you did," she repeated.

"What are you talking about?"

"Yesterday. You talked to Sakura for me, so I could see Kankurou. Didn't you?"

He stayed silent and avoided eye contact with her. After a moment, he heard her take a deep breath and readied himself to get yelled at for not answering her again.

Instead, she blew out a breath. "Thank you. Really." When he looked at her again, she had her gaze focused to the ground.

He swallowed silently and gathered as much courage as he could, then reached toward her and touched her shoulder awkwardly. "You're welcome," he muttered nervously.

Even though it was clumsy and embarrassing, it was actually pretty cute how obvious it was that it was his first time trying to show a girl any emotion outside of aloofness. She grinned back at him, meeting his efforts for friendship halfway. And in the sky above, two bright stars seemed closer together.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Hey guys! I just wanted to thank everyone who has reviewed and favorited thus far. You guys rock.

* * *

**Chapter 5:**

In the days that followed Gaara's arrival and Kankurou's awakening, Temari quickly learned and undertook the activities that would have made her a Konoha tribeswoman. It wasn't the kind of life that she wanted for herself, but she owed it to the Nara's to be helpful to them in whatever way was necessary. Kankurou was in the beginning stages of walking again, so she didn't have much longer in the village anyway.

The sun hadn't even fully peeked over the treetops when Temari's eyes popped open as if of their own accord. She sat up and stretched just as Shikamaru rolled over and looked at her. Yoshino was just starting breakfast, and Shikaku was sitting at the table, going over some papers.

"Looks like I beat you up again today," Temari teased, poking Shikamaru's arm.

He sat up and yawned. "You wish. I've been awake since they got up."

She stuck her tongue out at him, "Yeah right." Such banter had become a usual occurrence for them. So much so, that Temari sometimes found herself wondering how she would go on without it, then she would quickly squash those thoughts and remind herself of what was important. But as the days went by, she found that line between what she had originally believed to be important, and what had been unimportant was blurring, leaving her terribly confused.

After breakfast, Temari went with Shikamaru to feed the deer, where she said hello to Isi, the newborn who wasn't so new anymore. There was something majestic about being with the deer, and she liked what it did to Shikamaru's mood.

"I like deer. They're simple, but unlike people, they don't delude themselves into thinking that they're anything more," he had once said. She had argued and teased him about it at the time, but she had come to understand in hardly a week.

"You'll probably be leaving soon," Shikamaru said out of nowhere, as they were putting the feeding buckets away. He didn't look at her, and she had to wonder what he was thinking exactly.

"Yeah!" she finally said, forcing herself to sound happy. "Being tied down here is just too boring." She presented him with a strained smile, and turned quickly to head back into the house. She didn't get more than a few steps, however, when a few older tribesmen approached.

"Miss Temari," said the frontmost one sternly, "By order of Hokage Lady Tsunade, you are to be imprisoned until further notice."

"What? Why?!"

"According to the report, one of your associates is responsible for harming a member of our tribe." At that, the two men in the back came forward and grabbed her arms.

"This is ridiculous! Are you just going to let them do this?!" She struggled against their grasps as she turned to Shikamaru, looking for help.

Shikamaru looked between her and his superiors then came forward to face her. "Just relax, Temari," he said, "If you don't put up a fight, you have some chance of being let go."

But not fighting wasn't in Temari's nature, and now even more infuriated by Shikamaru's lack of concern, she struggled all the more as she was dragged along to a fenced-in cluster of huts near the back of the village, tucked in under the cliff face. The sheer injustice of it all had her seeing red. When she was tied up and taken into one of the buildings, which honestly looked just like every other building, she saw finally her brothers. Temari waited until the guards had exited to ask questions.

"Who did it?!"

Kankurou snorted, "I can barely walk. Who would _I_ attack?"

Temari let her eyes fall to the dirt floor and cursed. " I knew it," she muttered, forlorn. "Why, Gaara?"

If she had been expecting an answer, his silence might have upset her more. As it was, Tsunade's sudden entrance was a welcome distraction.

"You know why you're here, don't you?" she asked. If looks could kill, the Hokage would have been dead three times over. But Tsunade wasn't a woman to be taken lightly, and she simply glared back, "Don't give me that look! The elders were mad enough that I was letting you go as freely as you were. I promised on my own honor that nothing would happen, and _guess what_--something happened!" The way she looked at the redhead made it clear that she specifically meant _Gaara_ happened.

A silent question hung in the air then: 'What are you going to do?'

Tsunade sighed, feeling old for the first time since she became Hokage. She didn't like the idea of putting three young people to death, but the elders were calling for blood. "The elders and I will deliberate," she said after an extended pause. "Once we've come to a conclusion that satisfies us all, that judgment will be passed upon you. I can't promise anything good." Once that was said, she spent only a moment more looking them over before she turned and left, at which point the guards entered again and took each of the siblings to separate locations.

Temari watched each of her brothers as they were all pulled in a different direction, but quickly lost sight of them. She understood the point of this; if any one of them got loose, he or she would have to waste several minutes of escape time looking for the other two, in which time, they would be recaptured.

She was tied up in a hut identical to the one she'd just been taken from, and then left there in solitude. After a few hours, a guard entered with a ladle of water and a piece of bread, both of which she refused. Thankfully, he gave up quickly and left her alone again. Tears made the backs of her eyes sting, but she withheld them, instead focusing on being angry rather than scared.

Morning came and she refused the substance that they offered her again. Shikamaru flitted through her mind a few times, but every time his name or face so much a touched the edge of her thoughts, she shook her head clear of him and thought of something that had been important to her when she had first gotten there. Her brothers were safe as far as she knew, but Baki was still missing, and they still needed to escape Konoha. She stewed over this until another "meal" was offered to her. She went hungry again.

Night fell over the village, and if she hadn't been able to tell by the moonlight pouring in through the door flap, she'd have known by how much quieter the village suddenly got after sunset. She wouldn't sleep, though, seeing it as a small kind of victory in her mind. She glared at the ground, kicking it a few times for good measure.

* * *

Shikamaru stared up at the moon. It was full and bright--brighter than usual. He tried to pick out constellations, but the moon made the stars look tiny and dull. Noticing a guard, he tucked himself into a shadow and waited for the man to pass, then hurried into the shanty that he knew to be Temari's prison. How he had come about this information had been odd.

His father had sat down at dinner earlier in the day and looked at him. Shikamaru was able to last several moments, but he eventually grew uncomfortable and caved.

"What is it?" he had asked Shikaku, and welcomed the break when the older man finally looked away.

"Number seventeen," Shikaku had answered cryptically. Despite how obscure this information had seemed at the time, though, Shikamaru figured it out within the hour, and after his parents had gone to sleep, he had snuck out.

His shadow cast over her, and she looked up at his silhouetted form in the doorway.

"What do _you_ want?" she spat.

He ignored the venom in her voice and knelt behind her, cutting her ropes. Then he moved around front of her and pulled out a small pack with food that he had saved from dinner in it. "Here," he said, "Eat."

"Oh, so you care now? That's interesting," she muttered sarcastically, swatting him away.

Shikamaru grabbed her hands mid-slap and tried again, pushing the food into her hands. "I told you to eat."

"I don't care!"

He shushed her, "Would you be quiet?"

"So sorry. I wouldn't want to get you in trouble now."

"You're kind of hard to like," he grunted.

She retorted, "Then don't try."

"I don't think I have a choice," he murmured, looking at her. All she could do was blush and look away, internally berating herself for acting so girly. He didn't seem to notice the rosy tint her face had taken on, as he continued to press the food towards her, only relenting once she accepted it.

After eating silently, she stretched her arms and rolled her shoulders, stiff from having them tied in the same position for so long. "You'll be in big trouble if I run away, you know--you're the one who untied me."

"I'm not worried," he shrugged, trying to seem indifferent. "I mean, you _are_ only a girl."

She smirked and punched him in the arm. "I wouldn't talk if I were you, _little boy_." He snorted and looked away, making her laugh. "So you really trust me that much?" she asked after a bit.

"You haven't done anything wrong," he pointed out.

She chuckled humorlessly. "Not since I've been here, anyway."

"Do you regret it?"

"I regret all of the people who have had to die for the cause."

Shikamaru was paying attention now. "What cause?" he asked suspiciously.

"Stopping Orochimaru," she answered. "If he gets what he wants, life as you know it here will end. He'll have enough manpower to uproot this whole village and take anything valuable from it--which might even include slaves."

"What does he want?"

She shook her head, "We don't know, but it's bad, whatever it is. We've intercepted most of his shipments into Oto, and a lot of them have had some strange things in them. Like once there were these jars of strange liquids with foreign writing on them." She went on, "They were all kinds of different colors, and they all smelled really bad."

Shikamaru contemplated this, wondering what on earth Orochimaru could have been plotting. So far, Orochimaru had left Konoha entirely alone, only taking a few trees from the outer edges of the forest, and perhaps killing some of the animals that lived there. If what Temari had said was true, however, Konoha had problems on its hands.

"I don't--" Shikamaru started, but was cut off when a gunshot echoed throughout the village. He quickly moved to the flap and peered out into the moonlit night. Though he could hear plenty of shouting and mass panic, all he could see were the shadowed outlines of people running frantically through the streets. Another shot rung out and one of the silhouettes fell to the ground.

He ducked back inside and looked at Temari, making a split decision. "Promise to stay here and I won't tie you up until I come back," he said, getting ready to go out into the chaos. The last thing he wanted was for her to go out, and get mistaken for an invader and killed.

He had left before she gave him an answer, but she supposed he was afraid of getting in trouble for untying her. She pulled her knees to her chest and tried not to watch what was going on outside through the crack in the door flap. It sounded like Hell had come to Earth outside, but she knew she didn't stand a chance without a weapon, and the Konoha people didn't use guns. She ground her teeth, irritated at feeling so utterly helpless.

* * *

Shikamaru bolted between houses, keeping out of sight. The invaders were, unsurprisingly, Orochimaru's men, as was obvious by their tan and purple uniforms. As he ran, there was only one goal in his mind: get home. When he'd left, his parents had been in bed. For all he knew, they could have been killed in their sleep; a thought that he tried to shake from his head, but couldn't seem to stop the gruesome images from coming.

He rounded a corner and was caught by the arm. Spinning around to fight the offender off, Shikamaru just barely managed to halt in time to not knock his father out.

"Dad?"

Shikaku tightened his hold on his son. "Shikamaru, I need you to listen to me," he instructed. "Your mother is safe, so don't worry about her. Right now, I need you to hurry to the Archives. They're after something there, and you can't let them get it."

"What about you?"

"I'll be in the West Tower. We've positioned archers at every tower, so there will always be someone watching your back." Shikaku finally leg go of Shikamaru and gave him a clap on the back in what might have been described as affection. "Be careful, Son. At this moment, you're no longer a child, you're a warrior."

Shikamaru clenched his teeth and turned on his heel, wishing he'd been able to think of something profound to say in that moment. His throat burned at the thought of never seeing either of his parents again, at never seeing Chouji or Ino again, and he suddenly wished he could go back to the last moment he spent with each of them and be just a little nicer. A little less bored with them all.

The Archives came into view, and he threw his energy into getting there before he was noticed and shot at. He had made the right decision in telling Temari to stay behind, because anyone that didn't belong to the village had an arrow in them in no time at all. He made it inside with some degree of relief, but he quickly realized that his fight had only just begun.

Five of Orochimaru's men were inside, rummaging through old scrolls and tomes and other artifacts that held various sacred meanings to Konoha. The all looked up when he entered, and within seconds, four guns were pointed in his direction. Shikamaru decided that it was a terrible time to notice that he had no weapon.

To his right, Shikamaru noticed a spear. It was old and looked extremely fragile, but it was all he had near him. With a speed that he never knew he possessed, he grabbed the ancient relic and jabbed the blunt end at the closest enemy, making the four who had stopped searching laugh at him. They didn't seem to realize what his intention was, which worked out fine for him.

The closest soldier was a redhead, and the only female, Shikamaru noted with some dismay. Her shotgun was pointed at him even while she guffawed at his supposed stupidity, and he took the opportunity to shove the end of the spear down the barrel and ram the whole gun into her breastbone. Not fatal, but it would certainly slow her down for the moment.

The other three took that moment to decide that they should get serious, but before they could do much, Shikamaru was already sweeping the spear around, throwing the girl's shotgun off the end and setting it off when it hit the ground, shooting the largest member in the leg. Shikamaru flipped the spear around and swung the pointed end at the next soldier, but he was quicker than the others and managed to dodge with only a small nick on his arm.

"Quit playing around, I found it," said the white-haired one, pocketing a large stone of some sort. He left them with the order to finish off Shikamaru and follow him as soon as they were done.

* * *

Chouji wasn't fast when there wasn't food involved, but the thought of his best friend being in danger was incentive enough to quicken his pace. Upon helping his father clear out the women and children, and then reporting to the West Tower, Chouji had been informed of Shikamaru's mission. By the look in Shikaku's eye, he was aware that he had all but sent his son to his death, but he had been unable to bring himself to send anyone else's son on such a mission. Chouji had been advised to stay in the tower, but Shikamaru had always been there for him, and now he'd be there for Shikamaru no matter what it took. Chouji was surprised when Naruto suddenly ran up alongside him.

"Where are we going?" asked the blond with a confident grin.

Chouji looked ahead, "The Archives."

* * *

Shikamaru quickly became aware of just how outnumbered he was. The four remaining members of Orochimaru's ranks were closing in on him, each armed with at least one gun. All he had at the moment was a broken spear.

As they took aim, he felt every muscle in his body scream with anticipation. He had only on chance if he intended to survive. Watching their trigger fingers intently, he waited for the precise moment, and when it came, he threw himself to the ground, just barely avoiding being gunned down. On the way down, he purposely sliced his own stomach with the spear, hoping that they'd see the blood and wouldn't question its amount.

Shikamaru landed on his front and felt the warmth of his own blood below him. Though it hurt, he supposed anything was better than being shot with a poisonous bullet. Above him, one of them scoffed.

"What a fool."

"Come on now," said another, "Kimimaro is far enough ahead already." They filed out of the building, one pausing to kick Shikamaru in the side, and were gone within seconds.

Shikamaru groaned as he pulled himself up. He was beginning to wonder if a poisonous bullet and a quick death would have been better. Pressing a hand to his wounded abdomen, he looked around for something to bandage himself with.

As he wrapped his bleeding gut, he wondered how his life had changed so much in just a few short hours. That morning, he had been doing his chores with Temari, and suddenly she was a criminal again, and he was the only person who could stop the forces that threatened to destroy his home. _How troublesome_.

"Shikamaru!" He looked up at Chouji, as the corpulent boy came through the door and ran to him, Naruto and Kiba in tow.

"What are you guys doing here?" Shikamaru asked, getting to his feet.

"Stupid," Naruto shouted, "We're here to help you, of course!"

"Well, it's too late," Shikamaru muttered. "They got away."

Kiba bounded forward, "Which way did they go?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes, it matters!" Naruto and Kiba yelled together.

"We can still go after them!" At Shikamaru's skeptical look, Naruto affirmed, "We _are_ going after them!"

Shikamaru grumbled. "I guess I have no choice then," he said. "I'll fill you in on our enemies along the way." With that, Shikamaru ran off in the direction that he knew the Oto soldiers to be heading, followed closely by his fellow failures. With that sort of a reputation on their backs, they had little chance for success.


	6. Chapter 6

**Wanted**

**Chapter 6:**

Temari glanced outside for the hundredth time that night. The noise had died down some, but distant gunshots could still be heard.

And _he_ still hadn't come back. She worried her lip uncharacteristically. Since when did she care so much about some stupid, worthless, lazy, whiney, little boy? And since when did she do what said stupid, worthless, lazy, whiney, little boy told her to do? She stood then, leaving her hut. It was his own fault for untying her, she justified.

At the first fallen soldier she came upon, she snatched his shotgun and ammo, then after a second thought, took his pants, too. She was sick of how breezy the Konoha dresses were. At the next soldier, she took more weapons and clothing, and finally found one that was larger than the other two and repeated the process. Then she was off to find her brothers.

Gaara's prison was surprisingly easy to find. It was the only one with a real door and four latches on the outside. Apparently Gaara was considered the most dangerous everywhere they went.

Neither said anything as she entered and handed him a pair of tan pants, but he got the hint and changed out of the animal hide waistcloth quickly, then selected from her carried arsenal.

"We should split up and look for Kankurou," she finally said, watching as Gaara reloaded the pistol.

"I disagree."

Temari resorted to her 'I'm-your-big-sister-and-what-I-say-goes' voice, "But we can cover more ground if we split up."

"But we'll waste time finding each other later."

"We're wasting time _now_!"

"Exactly," Gaara established. "Now come with me." He didn't bother waiting for her as he ran off, leaving her no choice but to follow him and reflect on how sick she was getting of being told who to follow.

* * *

"Can't that mutt of yours go any faster?"

Kiba all but snarled at Naruto. "Akamaru is doing the best he can!" He put a hand on the scruff of the large wolf dog and patted it. "You don't listen to that idiot, Akamaru," he whispered.

"Come off it, Kiba! We all know the reason you failed is because neither of you can track for beans!"

"Akamaru is a great tracker; don't blame my failure on him!" He spun around, jabbing a finger at the blond, "Why don't you look at your own shortcomings before criticizing others?"

"Guys," Chouji spoke quietly, trying to defuse the situation, "Is now really the best time for this?"

"At least we're doing something. What are you and Shikamaru doing to help?" Kiba bit back.

"You're right, Kiba." Shikamaru stood upright and stretched. "We've already lost several minutes, so we're going to split up. It's important that we catch them before they get into the desert, otherwise we lose the advantage of the terrain." This news made them all seem a little nervous, but Shikamaru plowed on.

"Naruto, you go in the south-southwest direction. Kiba and Akamaru will go south, Chouji will go in the southeast direction, and I'll continue south-southeast."

Despite the general unease of the group, they all nodded and went where they were told to go. While they had been fighting, Shikamaru had been thinking:

Their enemies had likely fanned out in order to cover more ground and set up traps to keep any Konoha warriors that should follow from catching the Oto soldier who carried the gem. At this rate, they were bound to each run into a soldier, which was dangerous, but it gave them the slightest glimmer of hope that they might be able to overpower the Oto invaders by catching them separately.

Shikamaru kept to the shadows of the trees and readied his bow and arrow. The last thing he needed was for his enemy to be perched on a branch somewhere, ready to put a bullet in his head before he had the chance to strike. He was no Neji Hyuuga, but he was fairly confident that if he had the right chance, he's be able to hit his target.

Not far off, he heard a click.

"I've been waiting."

* * *

Daybreak was just starting to reach out across the land, painting the sky red and casting long shadows across the ground. _All night_, Naruto mused. He'd officially been up all night. And he could feel it in the way his body seemed to take a second too long to do as he bid it and the way his eyes throbbed from the inside.

"_Croak_."

"Aah!" Naruto jumped back, startled, as a toad leapt away from him in the underbrush. With a self-irritated grunt, he shook off his little blunder, glad that nobody had been there to see it. At least it had woken him up some.

The toad croaked again, and Naruto looked at it with a grin, only to notice something far more interesting moving across the ground: a shadow. For a moment, he was certain his heart had stopped, seeing what was distinctly a man coming up behind him. Then the metal clink of a cocked gun rang in his ears, and he made a grab for the hatchet on his hip, spinning to defend himself, just as his attacker pulled the trigger.

* * *

_Bang!_

Chouji froze mid-step, and looked around. The sound echoed from every direction, making it impossible to trace.

"I hope they're all alright," he muttered, worry making his throat feel too tight. Pushing another branch out of his way, he trudged on.

"Shouldn't you be more worried about yourself?" asked a voice, too close for Chouji's comfort. Turning slowly, he came face-to-face with his opponent, or rather, face-to-barrel of a gun.

"Your primitive little stick isn't going to save you." Jiroubo chortled, "But since I hate it when my victims die too easily, I'll make this interesting." Chouji didn't have a chance to ask what he meant, as Jiroubo lowered the gun and shot him in the foot.

"Gyah!" Chouji choked out a cry, staring up at the man.

"Better start running, Fatso. You only have six seconds left before I finish reloading."

Chouji would have done as he said, but his mind got hooked on a single word of the Oto man's sentence. Gritting his teeth, he used his spear to pull himself up. "Don't," he ground out. "Call me," he swung the spear back. "FAT!!" Chouji sliced downward, only managing to nick at the other man's uniform before Jiroubo had just barely managed to jerk away, wincing as he put his weight on his freshly-bandaged leg.

Jiroubo only seemed surprised for a moment, before he smirked and pulled his shotgun back up into position. "Or what? You gonna shake your stick at me again, Fatty?"

With a howl, Chouji dove at him again, this time faster. A little-known fact about Chouji: he was fast for his size.

And, luckily, Jiroubo wasn't. Despite the burning pins and needles feeling in his foot, Chouji kept moving forward, not giving Jiroubo the chance to counter.

There was only one thing he could do, decided Jiroubo, halting his retreat and standing firm. In the next moment, a shot was fired, and blood began to pool below them.

* * *

"You're the best tracker ever," Kiba groused, still pouting over what Naruto had said. "Like he knows anything about dogs, anyway. That Naruto's just a big idiot, right, Akamaru?" Akamaru ignored his master's ranting and kept his nose to the ground, which was fine with Kiba. The sooner they found these guys, the sooner they could go home. When the canine paused in his movements, giving one particular spot a lot of extra attention, Kiba got excited.

"What'd you find?" he asked, only getting happier when Akamaru started moving forward again, this time with more purpose. They went on until they came to a clearing, which was unremarkable in and of itself, but the whole thing just seemed far too deliberate for Kiba's liking. His unease doubled when Akamaru began to growl.

"They sent a mongrel after us," said a voice as its owner approached, "And it has a dog, too."

Kiba clenched a fist. "You should have run away while you had the chance! I won't let you get away, now!" he shouted.

"And now it's threatening us. What should we do about that?"

Kiba clenched his teeth, "Stop talking to yourself, you freak! Are we doing this, or what?!"

The Oto soldier clicked his tongue, "It's very impatient, brother."

"I don't blame it," answered a second voice, but from where, Kiba couldn't tell. "Your games get tiring."

Kiba's eyes darted around in search of his second foe, but he didn't dare let his attention wander from the grey-haired man in front of him for long.

"Very well, then," said the visible one. "I'll finish this quickly!"

* * *

"I'm surprised you survived." The redhead hid her self-satisfied smirk behind her revolver, as Shikamaru squinted at her through the half-light. "I won't underestimate you again," she said.

"Too bad. Makes it easier for me when you do," Shikamaru deadpanned. She cackled at that.

"Do you think this is a joke?" she asked. "By the end of today, you'll be dead. Still think it's funny?!"

Shikamaru pulled his mouth to one side, "I never thought it was funny to begin with. Having my home attacked in the middle of the night because Orochimaru is too cowardly to come get what he wants himself; what's funny about that?"

"If you're offended that Lord Orochimaru was too busy to honor your pathetic tribe with his presence, you don't need to worry. As soon as he's immortal, he'll be back for a visit, and all of your people can tell you in Hell what it was like to be annihilated at his hand!"

"Immortal?" Shikamaru muttered to himself. Is that was Orochimaru was after? How was it possible that Konoha could have been in possession of such and item? He pushed that thought aside, focusing on the task at hand. To get even slightly wounded by the woman's power would be lethal if she had that poison--and most probably, she did. She was just about to shoot him when he ducked behind the nearest tree, and sunk down into the underbrush, crawling away from her. If he could just retreat far enough to find a good vantage point, he'd be able to shoot from a distance, which would have been the ideal for him from the beginning.

Whatever, he thought, reminding himself that he had been able to trick her with her group, and he could do it again now that she was alone. He pointedly blocked out the unhelpful part of him that told him how dumb people got in groups--mob mentality, and all that--and continued along on his way as silently as possible.

Tayuya looked around, irritated. "This is pathetic," she said loud enough for him to hear, wherever he might have been. "If a coward like _you_ is the best Konoha had to offer, then killing them all won't be a difficult task."

Shikamaru grunted when a burr caught on his bandaging. He glanced over his shoulder, and was greeted by the sight of her moving away from his position. He took the opportunity to climb a nearby evergreen. Spotting her, he then set an arrow on the rest and pulled back until the string was taut. Aiming, he followed her movements, waiting for her to steady, until she passed by a large oak and disappeared behind it.

Tayuya would have been offended if it weren't so amusing. He thought he could get away that easily? Out of the corner of her eyes, she watched him try to escape. Turning leisurely in the other direction, she stalked away a bit, keeping track of him. He was in a tree a moment later, and she had to resist the urge to laugh out loud. Killing him would be like… Well, it would be like shooting a boy out of a tree, wouldn't it? Wicked grin in place, she made sure a large tree obscured his vision of her, then paced a few feet away to find a tree of her own. She climbed strenuously, checking to make sure he was still on his perch every so often, and when she finally reached a good branch, she took a moment to rest. Getting her pistol ready, she looked back at him, but he was gone.

She jerked upright, searching desperately for where he might have gone. Had he gotten impatient and gone back down to the ground? Angrily, she began searching the underbrush again, firing at anything that moved. A rabbit and two squirrels later, an arrow whizzed by her side.

Shikamaru ducked back around to the opposite side of his evergreen with a curse; he had been only a hairsbreadth off. If he was lucky, he'd get one more shot before she figured out his position.

"Come out, you bastard!" she shrieked.

_Not yet_, he answered silently, and let another arrow fly. This time, it hit his target.

* * *

Naruto fell back against a tree trunk, eyes clamped shut. It took him a minute to figure out he wasn't dead, but once he did, his mind went into overdrive trying to figure out how it was possible.

Kidoumaru glared at the young Konoha boy, pulling out a second pistol and cocking it. "If that's all you were going to do with it, you'd have been better off bringing a shield," he muttered.

Naruto took a minute to figure out what he was talking about, until he noticed the state of his hatchet. The metal had been torn away like paper, and the edges were mangled and ominous-looking. Not far off, the slug that had come unsettlingly close to tearing a new hole in his skull had split a sapling and lodged itself into a boulder. Naruto comforted himself with the thought that a lesser man might have gulped at the sight.

"Before you die, guess why they call me 'Kidoumaru, the Spider'."

"Because you eat flies?"

Kidoumaru wasn't amused. "I hope that was worth it, because those are your last words."

Naruto decided that it would be best to start running.

* * *

Chouji's breathing was shallow and gargled with every exhale. His chest burned, and his body shook. Through hazy vision, he looked down the pole of his spear, where it sliced into Jiroubo's flesh, coating the handle with the Oto soldier's blood and making it slick and sickeningly warm.

"Heh. I hope you… get it now," Jiroubo panted. "Guys like you… are just peons."

Chouji felt his own blood dribble down from the corner of his mouth, but made no move to wipe it away. "You're wrong."

"You'll die here."

Chojji squeezed his eyes shut, "No… Shikamaru wouldn't forget about me."

"It's not about forgetting you." he wheezed. "All of my comrades are prepared for them. Face it, your little friends are as good as…" Jiroubo trailed off, losing the battle against unconsciousness.

Chouji let go of his spear, and the other man fell to the ground in a heap. Letting himself drop a ways away, Chouji stared up at the sky miserably until he could no longer keep his eyes open.

* * *

Kiba jumped out of the way just in time to avoid getting shot through the head, cursing loudly as he hit the ground a little harder than he'd have wanted to. He could see Akamaru on the other side of the clearing, getting ready to pounce, and had to resist the urge to smirk at how well he had trained the dog.

"From the rear!" the second voice suddenly called out, and the Oto soldier whirled around to fire at Akamaru. The dog yelped as it was hit.

"Akamaru!" Kiba shouted, trying to get to his companion, but was stopped by a hand around his neck.

Sakon clenched his fist tighter around Kiba's windpipe, enjoying the way he struggled. "What's your hurry?" he asked. "Your mutt's already dead. And we always enjoy a good game."

"Speak for yourself," muttered the other voice, terrifyingly close to Kiba. But no matter how hard he tried, Kiba couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from.

"You seem confused, mongrel. Allow me to present my brother." Sakon dropped Kiba's near-limp body to the ground, where the brunet gulped in breath like it was going out of style. Hands now free, Sakon reached up to the hood of his cloak and removed it slowly.

Kiba stared up at him in revulsion. "You've got two…"

"That's right," Sakon stated proudly, turning so that Kiba could see both heads at the same time. "Dear brother, do you want to introduce yourself?"

"Why bother?" muttered Ukon. "Just kill him already."

"Alright, alright. But only if I can use my hands; it's so much more fun that way."

Kiba spared a glance at Akamaru before making his move. Before Sakon could react, he had pushed himself up and run over to Akamaru, pulling the large canine out of the clearing and as far into the forest as he could. Despite Akamaru's weight slowing him down, he made it to the riverbank and hid Akamaru behind a bush.

"Stay here, Akamaru," he whispered. "I promise I'll come back for you, so just try to stay alive." Akamaru whimpered as Kiba gave his head a final pat and ran off. The next thing on Kiba's agenda was to cover up the drag marks they'd left in the dirt.

Sakon meandered along, following the trail of broken twigs and leaves that had been swept to one side or the other, until he came across a muddy beach where the trail ended.

"He's a clever little swine, isn't he?"

Ukon grumbled, "I told you to finish him quickly."

Sakon shrugged, moving over to peer into the murky water. "Do you think he's stupid enough to try to swim away with a dead mutt on his back?"

"If he is, then he's just done our job for us."

"So that's a 'no' then." Sakon sighed, "He must have planted part of the trail to lead us here so he could get away." As he turned to go back into the woods, the river behind him splashed and Ukon howled in pain. Sakon spun back around to face the water, where it rippled tellingly before swirling into the current as if it had never been touched.

"Ukon?! Are you okay?!"

"Ugh! I can't see!" Ukon grit out. "He clawed my eyes!"

Gnashing his teeth, Sakon pulled out his pistol and fired every shot he had left into the water with a snarl. Once it was empty, he threw it to the side and grabbed his rifle. For the first time since they joined Orochimaru, Sakon felt vulnerable. When they were children, people had treated the conjoined brothers like some kind of a mutant being. All that had changed when Orochimaru had discovered them and seen them for all that they could be if they worked together. Now he was left without the 'eyes on the back of his head' and was realizing just how much world there was around him. The forest had never seemed so noisy.

Kiba stayed among the rocks, where the edge of the river had formed a cave just below the surface. It was hard to see--not to mention breathe--there, but at least he was safe from being shot. He could hear the disturbance in the water, feel the way the soft current protested when the shots forced themselves through to the sandy bottom, kicking up muck and swirling it around him. When at last everything seemed to quiet, Kiba poked his head out of the water--just his eyes, ears and nose at first.

"Why, hello," said Sakon above him, too calmly. "Look what I found." Kiba couldn't see what Sakon was pointing at, but he didn't suppose it was good. Raising himself further from the water, his fears were realized when he caught a glimpse of red-stained, white fur.

"Gut the beast!" cried Ukon from his perpetual home at the back of his brother's head.

Sakon only grinned viciously at Kiba. "I'm going to kill your mutt, right here in front of you. And when I'm done with that, it'll be your turn." He aimed his rifle at Kiba, then. "But first, I need to make sure you don't run away again."

Kiba's eyes widened as the buckshot tore through his gut. The pain was almost too much for his brain to register, and left him with a numb, icy-burning.

"Now then, say bye-bye to your doggy."

* * *

Tayuya gasped as an arrow came by her, missing her by a fraction. She turned toward his position, finally spotting him. "You missed, dipshit!"

"Did I?" he called back to her.

This made her pause, before the grin was back on her face. "A little late for mind games, isn't it?" she asked rhetorically. She reached to her side to get more bullets; this time, she'd be sure to kill him. When her hand met noting but air, she drew her gaze away from him for a moment, only then noticing that the pouch she kept her ammo in was now on the ground below her.

"I told you I didn't miss," he gloated. Shikamaru knew that he had wasted a perfect chance to kill her by shooting the strap of her bag, but he was hoping to be able to take her prisoner rather than kill her. He had a feeling that she knew what Orochimaru was planning, and if Konoha could get her to talk, it would be the easiest way to stop him.

Tayuya snorted, throwing her pistol to the ground and pulling out her shotgun. "We'll see if it makes a difference."

* * *

Naruto stumbled over a root, but managed to keep his balance. Behind him, Kidoumaru was closing in, firing indiscriminately in Naruto's general direction.

Naruto had no choice but to keep running. Firearms were great for long-range kills, but they required reloading. If he could find somewhere safe to hide until _Spider Man_ ran out of ammo, he could take advantage of the obvious weakness. By Naruto's count, however, he should have long since run out. Even with a revolver, that was only six shots. Two revolvers were twelve. Added to the two pistols that Kidoumaru had fired before Naruto had started running, and the two shotguns that he had seen strapped to The Spider's back…

Naruto almost fell again. Math was hard to do while running! He tried to concentrate. Spiders had eight limbs. Four revolvers, times six shots per revolver. Plus a shot per each of his other four guns.

_Great!_ thought Naruto. He would just keep running until Kidoumaru had used all twenty-eight of his shots, then he go back and kick his butt! Unfortunately, Naruto hadn't planned to meet the mouth of the Southern Canyon so quickly. Not far to the east, the river became a waterfall, where it pooled below. Across from the Konoha side was where the desert started, and the only way to cross was even farther east than the waterfall, which was why the gorge was referred to as '_The Valley of the End_'.

Naruto squeezed his eyes shut. What a good name for the place where he would die, he thought. His legs tensed as a final shot was fired, before he jumped.

* * *

**N/A:** Fear the dreaded cliffhanger.


	7. Chapter 7

**Wanted  
****Chapter 7:**

Kiba blinked slowly. He could have sworn he's only closed his eyes for a second, but in that second, things had rearranged themselves around him. He had heard the gunshot, felt the warm splatter of blood on his skin. When he looked again, Akamaru was still lying beside him, unconscious (as Kiba refused to even think that he was dead). But Sakon had stumbled back a bit, clutching at the hole in his chest, eyes wide. Sakon was yelling something off to the left, but Kiba couldn't hear much more than the strange rushing sound in his ears. He felt like he was back underwater, for as aware of his surroundings as he was.

Another blink, and Sakon was on his knees, coughing up blood. Ukon was already dead--or maybe he was just unconscious. Kiba wasn't sure if it was possible for one to die and not the other, but then again, he was no expert on what having two heads entailed. The next shot tore through Sakon's throat; Kiba set to keeping the gruesome image from being committed to his memory.

"Wake up, you useless brat!"

Kiba squinted up at the silhouetted figure above him. The voice was familiar. Kiba wasn't able to say anything before his savior had a hand at his back and was pushing him up into a sitting position. Kiba groaned in protest, the sound gargling around in his chest as he lurched.

Kankurou took a step back, uneasily. "Hey! Don't go hurling on me, now!" After Kiba had steadied a bit, and the suspiciously gag-like sounds had stopped, Kankurou hefted the dog trainer over his shoulder with a grunt that sounded something like, 'stupid kids.' Then, as an afterthought, he gathered up the large canine as well and began his slow trudge back to Konoha. And what a trudge it would be.

The shot fired, and…

* * *

Shikamaru looked down at himself. No wound. He looked over at Tayuya, who was now holding her shoulder gingerly, looking down at the ground. Shikamaru followed her gaze.

"Remember me?" asked Temari, glaring along the path of her shotgun at Tayuya.

The redhead gasped. "_You!_"

"That's right," snarled Temari. "I'm the girl you killed!" Shikamaru tilted his head. He assumed she was speaking metaphorically.

"But the poison… How is it possible?!"

Shikamaru sighed, climbing down from his tree and sauntering over to Temari. "If you don't mind, I already have a plan. I don't really need any help--"

"Shut up!" both women yelled at him, before going back to glaring at each other.

Tayuya grinned maliciously. "I don't now how you survived, but I'll be sure to remedy that right now." Tayuya pulled the trigger, and Temari dove out of the way, tackling Shikamaru as she did so. Temari crouched to reload her shotgun, as Tayuya reached for her ammunition pouch to do the same, but stopped short. Her pouch was still on the ground. The Oto woman's eyes widened in fear.

"Temari, I think we should take her alive. She knows something--"

Temari silenced him with a look. "This bitch shot Kankurou, then she shot me. I'm not letting her live. I know you're from a magical place, where if you plan things thoroughly enough, they'll go just the way you want. But here, in the real world, you take what you can when you can get it." The blonde took aim and pulled the trigger a second later.

Shikamaru looked away as Tayuya's lifeless body fell back to Earth. It cracked sickeningly on impact, and there was little comfort in knowing that she was no longer able to feel it. A shiver that had nothing to do with the temperature ran down his spine.

Temari examined him, eyes landing on his bandages. Crimson had seeped through while Shikamaru had been fighting. She asked, "She didn't shoot you, did she?"

He shook his head. "It's only a flesh wound that I got before I even left the village."

Temari snorted. "You're not much of a fighter, are you, Nara?" He ignored her, moving eastward. "Where are you going?"

"I have to make sure my team is okay. I'm in charge of them."

She rolled her eyes. "Your teammates are _that_ way." She pointed behind them as they continued in the direction Shikamaru had chosen.

"Naruto and Kiba are that way," he corrected. "Chouji is this way." They were quiet for a long time until Temari broke the silence.

"Do you have any idea how stupid it was for you and your Merry Men to come out here by yourselves?"

"I'm supposed to get the stone back."

She grabbed him by the quiver, jarring him to a halt. "A rock? You morons ran off to get yourselves killed over a _rock_?! At least tell me it was an _important_ rock."

"They took the trouble to steal it, didn't they? Besides, that girl back there… She said something about Orochimaru becoming immortal."

Temari scoffed. "That's impossible. If man were capable of becoming immortal, someone would have done it by now." She rolled her eyes, adding, "Especially if all it took was a rock…"

"Could you at least try not to insult my peoples' culture?"

"Well, maybe if your culture made sense…!" Shikamaru stopped abruptly, and she nearly ran into him. She made a mental note to stop walking behind him, as she moved to peer over his shoulder at whatever had stopped him.

"Chouji," he muttered, cautiously moving to crouch beside his best friend.

Temari looked at the large Oto officer, not far away. Dead. With a low hum, she turned back to watch Shikamaru.

"It looks like that same poison." Shikamaru looked at Chouji's wounds, but there was nothing he could do at that moment. He'd have to get Chouji back to Konoha so Sakura could give him the antidote.

"What about your mission?" Temari asked, helping Shikamaru lift Chouji. The dark-haired boy contemplated this, torn. Of course, the obvious answer would be to help Chouji. Right? After all, Chouji had gone against orders to aid Shikamaru.

"Chouji comes first," Shikamaru finally muttered. Temari grinned at him, but he didn't see it.

* * *

"Suicide will get you nowhere."

Naruto did his best to look over his shoulder, but Gaara had him by the hair, preventing him from leaping into the valley. "Gaara. I'm probably happier to see you than I should be," Naruto confessed.

"I owe you for trying to kill you."

Naruto laughed. "Served me right. I shouldn't have been making fun of you while you had a knife within arm's reach." Gaara wondered why anyone would willingly take the blame for something that so clearly wasn't their fault, but shrugged it off. There were a lot of things about Naruto--and people in general--that he didn't understand.

"I'm surprised you're not injured."

Naruto laughed again, this time more sheepishly, "Yeah, me too. You wouldn't mind letting me go now, would you?"

Gaara blinked, then loosened his grip minimally. "You don't intend to jump, do you?"

"Is What's-his-name, the spider-thing dead?"

"If you are talking about Orochimaru's minion, I killed him."

"Then no, I don't plan on jumping." Naruto sighed in relief, massaging his sore scalp when Gaara finally liberated him. "We should get back to Konoha," Naruto suggested, as he stretched the muscles that he had only just realized were tense.

Gaara hesitated. "I'd rather not."

"Oh, come on! There's no way Granny Tsunade can lock you up now. Not after what you did for us." Naruto gave him a determined looked, "Besides, Orochimaru's a bigger threat than you three ever were!"

"You have a very simple way of looking at the world."

"Thanks!" Naruto trotted on, blissfully unaware of Gaara's true meaning. Dark rimmed eyes studies the sky for a moment, before following Naruto along.

* * *

As soon as they were all back in the village, Chouji, Kiba, and Akamaru were rushed to Sakura. Shikamaru would have preferred to stay close until he knew his friends were okay, but Tsunade called him and Naruto, as well as the sand trio, to a meeting.

"Two out of four," Tsunade sighed woefully. "And they got away, anyway."

Shikamaru glanced at Naruto, who was looking at the floor ashamedly. "Things didn't go as well as I had hoped," he tried. "I'd like to know what we were chasing, exactly."

Tsunade seemed wary, "Legend says that The first Hokage used The Gem to lead him to this land. 'Whosoever holds this jewel in his hand, holds the all-knowing powers of the everlasting heavens,' is what he said before he died, but nobody ever figured out what that meant."

"One of Orochimaru's men said something about him using it to become immortal."

"How could it be?" Tsunade wondered aloud. "Not even the Elders know what The Gem is capable of." The was a long pause, in which nobody knew if they were supposed to say something, or wait for Tsunade to start speaking again. She finally sighed.

"I'll have to call the hunting team back. Then we'll have some of the senior warriors to take care of this," she said.

"But it'll take them days to get back! What if it's too late?" Naruto shouted. "Send us. We can do it!" Shikamaru and Tsunade both raised their eyebrows at Naruto.

"Didn't you need rescuing?" Tsunade asked, deflating Naruto a bit. "There's no way you'll be able to beat Orochimaru if you couldn't even handle one of his subordinates."

"What if we went along?" asked Temari. "My brothers and I owe your village for saving our lives, and Orochimaru is our common enemy."

Tsunade hesitated. She couldn't afford to wait for the hunting team to return, but Orochimaru was far too dangerous for her to send such a young group to fight him. Not to mention the amount of trouble she'd be in for allowing the siblings to leave so easily. But if the Elders were calling for blood, surely they wouldn't object to the trial by fire that was Orochimaru's base. If they could survive that, Tsunade was of the opinion that they _deserved_ to live.

"Naruto. Shikamaru," Tsunade addressed the young Konoha men before her. "Do you accept this mission?" Naruto nodded vigorously, but Shikamaru seemed more reluctant.

Out of the corner of his eye, Shikamaru saw Temari giving him her patented 'don't-be-a-baby' look, and he put his hands up in defeat. "It can't be helped. Leave it to us, Lady Tsunade." Temari smirked--a look that he attempted to ignore, but finally settled on giving her his best 'this-had-nothing-to-do-with-you' vibe.

_Tch! Whatever, crybaby._

Shikamaru shook his head. The woman was in his mind, speaking telepathically to him.

"Well then," Tsunade cleared her throat, "Take some time to collect necessities and head out. I'll send backup along after you as soon as possible."

* * *

"Good Lord, old man, you _are_ stubborn," crooned Kabuto in mock sympathy, looking over the man before him.

"Go to Hell," muttered Baki back at him. He was out of breath and faint from too many weeks of malnutrition and a daily regimen of torture, but he refused to go down easily.

Kabuto clicked his tongue. "If you would just tell us where they are…"

Baki spat at him with what was left of the fluid in his body. "I wish I knew, just so I couldn't tell you about it!"

The pale-haired young man rubbed his temples, "You don't make things easy, do you?" He moved to the other side of the room, "Did you know that a human can go weeks without food?"

Baki grumbled.

"Yes, I suppose you do, don't you? After all, you've been here for twenty days…" Kabuto eyed the bowl of dirty water on the table beside him. This is what served as Baki's drinking water; he was given just enough each day to keep him alive. "Turns out," Kabuto went on, "That they can only last about three days without water." Then he lifted a hand and in a swift motion, the bowl toppled off the table, spilling to the floor.

He then turned to Baki with a sadistic smile that nearly matched Orochimaru's own. "You officially have three days until you die. Talk before then, and you will be spared."

The door slammed, and Baki was left alone again in total darkness. He settled back against the wall and closed his eyes. Right then, he only hoped that Gaara, Kankurou, and Temari were safe.

Kabuto stepped out of the old stable that served as a prison and lackadaisically pulled the leather gloves from his hands, passing them to the officer that stood outside.

Yoroi thought for a moment. "Do you suppose he really doesn't know?"

"Either way, he is useless to us," Kabuto answered.

"We can probably assume they are dead," Yoroi went on, "Tayuya reported shooting two of them with Lord Orochimaru's poison."

Kabuto glared at him venomously, "It's the one she didn't shoot that bothers me." Spotting Kimamaro's approach, he left the underling where he stood and returned to the mansion, where Orochimaru was waiting inside.

"Any word from the team sent to capture The Gem?" rasped Orochimaru as Kabuto entered the parlor.

"Kimimaro has returned. I've yet to get his report, sir, but I'm certain he would not have come back if he had failed you."

Orochimaru nodded in agreement. After Kabuto, Kimimaro was his most loyal follower. "Send him in. I want to speak with him."

* * *

**A/N: I actually wrote the beginning of this chapter while on the plane to Hawaii, then promptly lost my flash drive on the plane back. Luckily, I had the story written up until chapter six on my home computer, so I just had to rewrite part of chapter seven. Troublesome.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Wanted**

**Chapter 8:**

As Shikamaru, Naruto, and the Sand Siblings approached the front gates of Konoha, they were surprised to see who was waiting for them.

"Sakura! Did you bring that for me?" Naruto asked, running up to the pinkette and gesturing toward the black stallion that she held the reins to.

She gave him a swift whack upside the head, scolding him for making assumptions, before handing her horse off to Kankurou. While Naruto rubbed his new lump gingerly, Hinata stepped forward, offering her own horse to the blond.

"N-naruto, you can t-take mine… If you want to, I mean. You don't have to. I just thought…"

"Thanks, Hinata!" He shouted, cutting her off mid-ramble. The girl fidgeted when their fingers touched as her palomino mare exchanged hands. Ino, Tenten, and Matsuri silently handed their horses over to Shikamaru, Temari, and Gaara. And as everyone mounted their newly acquired transportation, Shikamaru gave Sakura a meaningful look.

"Make sure Chouji survives?" He sighed, "I owe him more, but all I can do right now is ask that you do your best."

Sakura furrowed her wide brow, worry evident in her features. "Are you guys sure you'll be okay? Orochimaru probably has more of that poison-worse poisons, even. What will you do if one of you ends up shot with the stuff?"

"Forehead is right," Ino added. "We can't send antidotes for things that we don't even know about yet."

"Are you suggesting that we bring her along?" Temari inquired.

Sakura exchanged a determined look with the older woman, "It couldn't hurt. Plus everyone knows that I'm one of the best riders in the village."

"What about Chouji and Kiba?" Shikamaru asked.

Ino glared at him, "Are you saying that you don't think I can handle this by myself? I'm a medic, too!" Shikamaru looked away, choosing to keep quiet rather than to incur her wrath.

"I don't see why we shouldn't bring her," Kankurou voiced. Gaara nodded his assent. Even Naruto seemed to have his mind made up about bringing Sakura along.

Outnumbered, three-to-two, Shikamaru muttered a 'troublesome' under his breath, but accepted defeat and agreed to let her come. With a triumphant smile, Sakura swung herself up onto Naruto's saddle in front of him, silencing his protests that she was "emasculating him" with an elbow to his gut. _Emasculating, indeed._

Before it was even midday, they had set off in the direction of the Oto Settlements, passing through the Suna Desert and riding all night until they reached an outer Oto town the next morning. They stopped to water their horses and collect supplies.

The tavern they entered was dusty and ominous as the rest of the town, but the three bandits didn't seem to notice as they went right inside and sat wherever they wanted, the three Konoha tribe members following along uncomfortably. In a corner, there were four men playing poker. The burly men stared openly at their new company until Kankurou tilted his head and sneered back at them.

"So, what do we do now?" asked Naruto, sitting between Sakura and Gaara.

"We will gather weapons," Gaara spoke quietly. "As well as ammunition and less conspicuous clothing. Then we ride until we reach Disturbance."

"Disturbance? What a strange name for a town," Sakura mumbled.

Kankurou shook his head at his brother, ignoring the girl. "Disturbance isn't far enough. We can get to _at least_ Ichor before nightfall," he argued. "Temari, what do you think? Temari?" Temari wasn't paying attention. She was in a glaring contest with one of the poker players.

"Temari!" Kankurou snapped.

She finally turned her attention back to her brother. "That sad excuse for a man over there has been giving me that creepy grin since we got in here," she almost growled. "Doesn't he know who I am?"

"This is a popular town for fugitives," Kankurou shrugged. "Maybe he just escaped from a prison train, or maybe he's dull. Either way, we need to decide where we go from here, and I say Disturbance isn't far enough."

"We have less chance of getting jumped in Disturbance, though." Temari was still distracted by the wicked smile that was still being sent her way as she spoke, "Ichor is the perfect place for news on Orochimaru and his plans, but that's because it's crawling with his supporters.

"Furthermore, it is a straight shot from Ichor to Orochimaru's ranch, but the road is heavily patrolled, and we'd be spotted from a mile away."

"My thoughts exactly," Gaara commented. "From Disturbance, we can go around Ichor and infiltrate Orochimaru's base from the east. We will approach from the pasture behind the stables, where there is no clear view from the main house."

"Wow, you guys sure know a lot about Orochimaru's base," Naruto noticed in awe. Both Shikamaru and Sakura caught the regretful looks of the siblings, but neither brought it to attention.

"Well, look't we got here." The grinning fool from before was approaching their table, his game buddies in tow. "If it ain't the Desert Bandits back from the dead. Where's ol' One Eye?" His mock concern didn't go over well with the siblings, as their collective irritation flared up around them in an opaque aura. It would have taken an idiot not to notice the thin ice he was walking on, but the unknown fugitive was just that-an idiot.

"It ain't proper," he continued on. "Lettin' poor One Eye take punishin' for y'all. 'Rochi's got him locked in Serpent's Cage, an' we all know what comes of the damned souls that go there…" He removed his hat and held it over his heart, dropping his gaze to the floor in parody of mourning.

Kankurou finally snapped, grabbing him by the collar. "How long has he been there?" When the jeering fugitive's poker pals attempted to come to his rescue, they were each being restrained by one of the other siblings before they even knew what was happening.

"I asked you a question! How long has Orochimaru had Baki?"

Now the outlaw looked between his two lackeys, quickly realizing that he had managed to start a fight in which he had been easily outmatched. The sniveling then commenced, "W-word just got around day before yesterday. I don't know how long he's been there, for sure!"

Kankurou took up the other man's wrist, holding it before his eyes. "You _sure_ you don't know?"

"I'm sure! I'm sure!"

"What do you guys think?" Kankurou asked his siblings. Temari snorted indifferently, while Gaara stared coldly at their antagonists.

"Take out insurance," Gaara ordered calmly. Kankurou's wicked smile spoke volumes.

The middle sibling's grip on the other man's wrist tightened significantly, then with a quick turn, the joint made a sickening crack. As his wrist popped from its appropriate socket, the other man howled in agony.

The three poker players were then released simultaneously, but before they could scurry away, Temari grabbed one of them again. Giving him a look that promised pain, she asked again if he was certain he didn't know any more than had already been said. He shook his head frantically, and as soon as he was free, he ran after his friends, who had already abandoned him.

"I don't think we'll be seeing them again," Temari grinned, taking her seat again. Gaara tilted his head in acknowledgement, but Kankurou outright ignored his sister as he approached the deserted poker table and began collecting the money that had been left there.

"You guys…" Sakura shuddered. "What was…? Why did you…?" Gaara remained impassive about the events that had just transpired, and neither of his siblings seemed to be at all regretful.

"That's the way it is," Temari answered finally. "Whether it's right or not, that's the way it is."

"You really believe that? How can you just accept that violence is the only answer?" Naruto suddenly yelled, balling his fists. His gaze fixed on Gaara, "Tell me! How?"

"Shut up! Who are you to question his judgment?" Temari stood to defend her brother. "Gaara's leadership is what has kept us alive all this time!" _Lord knows I've failed enough times._

Naruto's mouth opened, but Sakura grabbed his arm, silencing him. "Let it go, Naruto," she murmured.

They exited the tavern in silence, unsure of what was left to say. Kankurou offered to go on ahead and purchase guns, suggesting that Temari get clothing for them in the meantime. She hissed at him for ordering her around, but in the end, she got them their new outfits. The siblings ended up with almost exactly what they had had before Konoha had taken them in-Gaara in his earth tones, Kankurou in black, and Temari wearing purples. Shikamaru hadn't cared what he got, so Temari picked out green for him, while Naruto picked an obnoxious orange jacket, and Sakura chose a red dress.

Their party then rode on until they reached Disturbance, where they found an inn for the night.

* * *

"Dammit, get off'a me! I told you I was fine!"

Sakura only grit her teeth and tackled Kankurou back to the floor. "And I told _you_ that I was going to look over your wounds whether you liked it or not!" she replied. She removed his shirt, and checked him over, all the while ignoring his protests.

Gaara was mocking sleep next to where Naruto had long since passed out, and Temari sat next to Shikamaru in the corner of the room. The blonde smiled lovingly at her middle brother, chuckling when he cursed then pretended that Sakura's prodding hadn't hurt.

She looked over at Shikamaru then, catching him watching her. "I'll probably have a hard time pulling these two away from Konoha," she whispered to him suddenly.

He blinked dumbly at her for a moment, then he asked, "What about you?"

Her teasing grin dropped at his serious expression and even more at his loaded question. What about her? She'd go back to the desert. Back to her home. Was there any other place for her? Not Konoha, that was for sure.

When Shikamaru was still giving her that look, she knew he wouldn't simply let the matter go. "I meant what I said about not being able to stay in one place for long," Temari answered. If Shikamaru intended to dig a better answer out of her, he didn't get the chance.

"Why are you three so intent on killing Orochimaru?" Sakura asked, having finished her struggle with Kankurou. "Aside from the bounty he has on your heads…"

Kankurou paused mid-button. "… You tell her, Temari. You probably remember it better than me."

Temari slouched. "Fine, fine. It all started three generations ago, when our great-grandfather moved to the deserts. He was the first person to see potential in the endless sand, so he built a house. It took a long time, but he eventually managed to dig a well, and then his wife, our great-grandmother, had a baby. That baby grew up, and left for some time, and when he came back, he brought a wife and a son.

"It was like that until ten years ago, when Orochimaru came with a piece of paper that said the land belonged to him. Our father tried to fight him, but Orochimaru had more manpower, and out father was killed…"

"_Lord Orochimaru, what should we do with these brats?"_

_Orochimaru turned from where he surveyed the men working, his gold eyes landing on three small children. "Ah. These must be his heirs."_

"_What did you do to our father?" demanded eight-year-old Temari._

_Orochimaru smiled. "What did I do to him? Why, I didn't do anything to him. He abandoned you of his own will."_

"_Just let them go," Baki implored. "They are only children."_

"_Silence!" Orochimaru snapped. Taking a deep breath, his smile slid back into place, and he smoothed his inky black locks as he turned toward the ranch hands. "Where is that brander? I'd like to see my mark on something other than cattle."_

"_Orochimaru! You're a monster!" Baki shouted, as he struggled against his restraints._

_The branding rod was placed in Orochimaru's hand as he grinned wryly at the Sabakus' loyal manservant. "A monster? That's hardly original, but I do applaud your refraining from comparing me to a snake. I do _so_ tire of that."_

"_You're nothing like a snake. Even snakes have hearts!" Gaara cried, wide eyes narrowed on the pale man before him._

_At this, Orochimaru chuckled. "Dear Baki, can you imagine the irony of being branded as mine when everything you've ever done had been for the sake of this little family?" Orochimaru tested the weight of the rod in his hand. "But that must wait. I've decided that this little wretch will be the first to take my mark."_

_Gaara was grabbed and dragged to Orochimaru's feet, where the boy was then pinned down. "Teamri! Kankurou!" he screamed in terror as the red-hot metal came closer to his face._

_His older siblings fought against their ropes, but neither could break free to save their baby brother. "Let him go! Please, let him go!" Temari begged, sobbing as Gaara's screams got louder. She squeezed her eyes shut, fighting to block out the sound of his cries, the smell of scorching flesh. She wanted nothing more than to wake up and find that it was all just a horrible nightmare._

_Baki was cursing Orochimaru even after Gaara passed out from shock, Kankurou had emptied the contents of his stomach onto the sand below him, and Temari was reduced to a shivering heap._

_Satisfied, Orochimaru threw his rod to the side. "Take these three out into the desert and leave them there. As for you, Baki. You will spend some time with me."_

"After that, we were taken into the desert and abandoned without food or water," Temari recounted. "I don't know how, but Baki managed to escape Orochimaru and he found us. We spent some time learning how to shoot, our hatred for Orochimaru being the only thing that kept us going some days. And here we are now, with Orochimaru parading around _our home_ like it's his, while we hide and fight to survive."

"I never knew. How could anyone do something like that?" Sakura whimpered. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be," Kankurou said. "Tomorrow is Orochimaru's last day to live, and then we take it all back from him."

"I'm going to sleep," Temari announced, standing. "And you should, too."

"Alright. G'night, Temari," replied Kankurou.

* * *

**A/N: I'm not really pleased with this chapter. Ah, well... Only two(-ish) chapters left.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9:**

For a ranch in the desert, the grass around Orochimaru's home stretched out for 2 acres all the way around. Just as the siblings had said, there was a loose board in the surrounding fence, several yards from the back of the stables. It was situated over the deepest part of the gully that the fence ran parallel to. There, the three bandits and the three Konoha stopped to rest.

"So, what now?" asked Naruto.

"We'll split up once we get inside," Gaara replied. "I'll take Naruto. Kankurou, you take Sakura, and Temari will take Shikamaru."

"Hold on just a minute," Temari argued. "Why do we have to split up like that? Do you really trust Kankurou alone with a girl?"

"Hey!" said the middle sibling in indignation.

"Kankurou is more susceptible to the poison then the rest of us because he's been shot with it before. If he doesn't receive treatment immediately next time, he really will die," Sakura explained. "You were shot with it, too, but it didn't reach your heart last time."

Temari pulled her mouth to the side, swinging her head to look at Naruto.

"Hey, I'm staying with Gaara. I owe him my life!"

She wasn't about to win this argument, and eventually accepted that for what it was. Once her pseudo-tantrum had finished, Gaara continued to tell them the plan.

"So let me get this straight," Sakura clarified. "Our plan is that we don't have one?"

"Essentially," answered Gaara.

Naruto threw a fist into the air, not at all bothered by running into a dangerous situation with little hope for survival. "Let's do this!"

Sakura grabbed him by the waistband just in time to stop him from sprinting headlong into the compound. "Settle down, Dummy! This is no time to act so eager!" she hissed at him, giving him a smack upside the head to drive her point home. Or maybe she just wanted to hit him; one could never be sure.

* * *

The sun had just reached its highest point in the sky when they finally approached the large, white house that the Sabaku family had inhabited a little more than ten years before. There, as their minimal plan had dictated, they split into their three, predetermined groups, with Kankurou and Sakura being the first to leave them in favor of overtaking the barn.

The remaining four went on to the house, where Gaara silently killed the two soldiers guarding the front door. Once inside, Temari led Shikamaru through the foyer and down the hall to where the sitting room, kitchen, dining room, and study were located.

Gaara led Naruto up the grand staircase. The polished, deep mahogany had not been there last Gaara had seen it. As he recalled, it had been simple oak planks with a painted white banister. Somewhere near the bottom, he remembered there being lines drawn on one of the posts, marking Temari and Kankurou's heights, put there back when their mother was still alive. Fixing his eyes ahead, he willed himself not to think about it.

"Gaara? What are we going to do when we find him, again?"

"Kill him." The answer came quickly, naturally. Gaara had spent his whole life waiting for this moment. Plotting and planning exactly how it would all play out. Of course, Konoha had nothing to do with it in his plans, and Orochimaru met him in the desert, where they ended their battle exactly where it had begun. But, he supposed, one couldn't always have their way.

"Look in there. I'll check this room." Gaara watched for a moment as Naruto did as he was told, then moved on to the aforementioned room and silently pushed the door open.

Inside, there were sheets draped over the furniture, but Gaara could distinctly remember the piano beneath those sheets. This had been the nursery. Their mother had played that very piano for Temari and Kankuro when they were little, before Gaara was born. Temari had tried to learn how to play, but she had no talent for music, it turned out.

Naruto came back out to meet the redhead in the corridor. "Nothing," the blond reported.

"Very well, that leaves only Father's room." Gaara's aqua eyes traveled along the intricate rug until they panned up to the dark wooden door of the one room where Gaara had never in his life been allowed to enter.

"There?" asked Naruto.

"Yes."

* * *

"All the mission states is that we get the stone back," Shikamaru muttered. "No reason to get ourselves killed with the rest of it." He inwardly cringed when Temari's eyes flashed angrily at him.

"Have you forgotten what Orochimaru plans to do with your village?" asked Temari. "He'll destroy your home if he doesn't die today."

Their conversation was cut short by a maid in the kitchen. As Temari went to approach the woman, Shikamaru grabbed her by the arm, tugging her back through the door to hide in the parlor.

"That woman is no soldier, nor is she Orochimaru," he said into her ear. "What business do you have killing her?"

With a scoff, the blonde pulled away from him, entering the kitchen once more. A muffled scream was the next thing he heard before a heavy thud. Shikamaru took a deep breath and followed the feisty cowgirl in to assess the damage.

To his surprise, the maid had not been killed, but knocked unconscious. Shikamaru fought the urge to smile, which Temari made easy by glaring at him.

"I'm not sparing anyone else, so you had better hope we don't run into anyone else that you deem innocent," she nearly spat.

They went on without another word, through the kitchen and past the dining room, until they came to the last door at the end of the hall. From what Shikamaru recalled of their briefing beforehand, this must have been the library. To his left, Temari was breathing heavily and glaring at the door as if she intended to will it into flames.

"Orochimaru could be behind this door," she murmured. Shikamaru nodded in return and noted how she trembled in anticipation.

She counted down silently, then kicked the door in, cocking her gun and aiming at the first humanoid thing that came into her vision. Shikamaru stood slightly behind her, suddenly very aware of how unprepared he felt.

Kabuto's hands froze in his task of examining the Gem, but her made no move to look a them. "I should have known," he said blankly.

"We came for the Gem," said Shikamaru, unnecessary as it was.

Kabuto tilted his head to look at them. "I can't let you have it," he said. "Lord Orochimaru has tasked me with unlocking its secrets, which means I must guard it with my life."

"I'd applaud your loyalty if it weren't so misdirected," Shikamaru commented mordantly.

Kabuto chuckled just as wryly, "You know nothing of the pain in this world. Lord Orochimaru has taken a wasteland, and given hundreds of people a home. But a forest-dweller like yourself would know nothing about that. You all assume that if you stay in your woods and don't interfere with the world around you, you can go on unaffected by the suffering that occurs every day."

"You make it sound like my wish to be left out of the affairs of others is unreasonable."

The silver-haired man pushed his spectacles up his nose. "By allying yourself with the Sabaku siblings, you've already robbed yourself of that ever being a possibility," he replied, shaking his head.

"Shut up," spat Temari, making Kabuto _very_ aware of her gun by pressing it into the side of his face.

"Honestly," Kabuto plowed on, "I'm surprised you survived. It was reported to me that you had been shot with my poison. I mixed it myself using different venoms from Lord Orochimaru's pet snakes. I cultivated it until it had the perfect combination of torture and fatality.

"You should understand fairly well, Miss Temari," Kabuto smiled sweetly at her. "The satisfaction in seeing your prey suffer before it dies."

She was about to protest. She wanted to suggest that he not automatically assume that she was anything like him, but something stopped her: it was _true_.

The realization was almost too much for her. Sure, she and her brothers were known for their brutality, but only to those who _deserved_ it. At least, that's how it was at first. When had killing innocent travelers become okay? When had she decided that a simple maid in Orochimaru's household belonged in a shallow grave right along side the filthy snake himself? When had she turned into this, this _monster_?

"Temari…?" Shikamaru watched as the color bled from her face, as if she was about to be sick. "Temari," he called to her again, but her eyes were fixated on the gun in her hands and she showed no signs of hearing him.

Her rifle, the most comfortable thing in the world to her—right next to sitting in a saddle, and the way the desert smelled right before sunrise—suddenly felt unfamiliar. Too heavy with the weight of her conscience.

Kabuto '_tsk_'ed, "Aren't you going to kill me?" As he expected, the blonde paid him no mind. "What? Nothing? Very well, then," Kabuto mocked being overworked with a deep sigh as he reached just below his desk for something that was hidden there.

And Shikamaru had a feeling he knew what it was.

It seemed to go in slow motion for Shikamaru. His mind worked overtime, willing his body make Temari move. In a bout of something that he never knew he possessed, his hand was over hers, his finger pressing her own down onto the trigger, and in the next second, Kabuto was on the floor. Upon realizing what he had just done, Shikamaru felt as if he would be sick on the floor.

It shocked Temari out of her trance. Shikamaru's pale face upset her, and grabbed his arm, steering him from the room. The reached back and grabbed the Gem as a second thought.

* * *

The sickly man in the bed stared at them. He was weak. He was in pain. He was not the devil that Gaara remembered.

Naruto turned away from the pale land baron, hiding his face. "_This_ is him?" he muttered to Gaara in absolute disbelief.

Steadying his aim, Gaara counted off ten seconds to clear his mind, then reevaluated the situation. At last he answered, "Yes."

Orochimaru wheezed, clenching his eyes shut when a gunshot sounded from elsewhere in the house.

When no second shot followed it, Gaara took it to mean that Temari had killed another of Orochimaru's men. The inky-haired man in the bed seemed to draw the same conclusion, and Gaara watched Orochimaru's eyes as he came to the conclusion that he was outnumbered and there would be no help coming for him.

Orochimaru had never been one to give up. When he wanted something, he killed or bribed whoever he had to in order to get it. If only immortality had been on his agenda a few years sooner, he might have had a chance. But, as the circumstances were, Orochimaru was _so_ tired.

Though Naruto was quietly protesting the idea of killing Orochimaru, Gaara was, as he had been all his life, intent on slaying the man. And from the look of him, the snake man was ready to die.

Gaara shook that thought away. This was not a mercy killing. This was _revenge_.

Naruto stared at the wood floor as Gaara's shot was fired, fixing his gaze even more intently when the bedsprings creaked ominously. The final muted thud was what made the blond leave the room.

* * *

"Temari," Shikamaru said from his place in the parlor's armchair, having gathered himself enough that he no longer felt lightheaded. "Give it here," he demanded gently.

Temari pawed at the Gem a few times more. "What's so importantly about it, anyway?" she inquired, silently refusing to do as he asked. She turned it this way and that, and still couldn't find anything special about it. "It's a rock," she pointed out.

He reached to swipe it away from her, but she held it out of his reach. "Just give it to me. It doesn't matter what it does," he tried to reason. "It's an artifact of my tribe and-"

"So I'm not allowed to touch it because I'm an outsider?"

"Where you're from has nothing to do with it. What matters is the fact that I'm in charge of returning it." He stood to take it from her, but she was being her usual stubborn self. His wounded stomach disagreed with how he attempted to stretch over her to snatch the Gem out of her grasp, and he cringed.

The weight of him on her made her lose her balance, and she dropped the stone, where it rang like a bell as it hit the hard wood of the side table, jarring the lamp and knocking it over. "Oh now look!" muttered Temari, reaching to right things, but she was stopped by Shikamaru's hand on hers. His eyes were fixated on the ceiling, and Temari had not choice but to look up at what had his attention.

On the ceiling, as well as the four walls, hundreds of tiny dots shone like diamonds against the surfaces that they hit.

"What is this?" she asked, more to herself, but she still received an answer from the young man beside her.

"The sky. They're stars," he said. "That group is called The Fox. And those are The Leaf." As if just then realizing it himself, he added, "It's a map."

"To what?"

"To the promise land. Konoha." Shikamaru recalled. "The First Hokage used the Gem to lead his tribe to their prophesized home," he told her. "But it really had nothing to do with prophecy. He was navigating by using this and the stars."

Temari chuckled. "And he never told anyone about it. Smart man."

The two froze in place when a gunshot fired from upstairs. Temari held her breath.

"You don't think…" Shikamaru trailed off. Was that really it? Was it over?

Footsteps creaked overhead, moving quickly, and Temari and Shikamaru only relaxed when they saw Naruto descend the staircase. His face was pale, his eyes blinked constantly, as if he was trying to remember something he had forgotten. Or perhaps forget something he didn't want to remember. He said nothing until Gaara had also come down to join them.

"What should we do now?" he asked. He didn't receive an answer from Shikamaru, who was just as unsure as Naruto at that moment. Nor did Temari¾far too busy trying to keep herself from weeping with sheer relief¾answer.

Finally, Gaara answered quietly. "Burn it."

"Burn it? Gaara, this is—was… _is_ our home." Temari stared at her youngest brother.

"We'll rebuild. I want nothing to do with this place, as it stands." He turned, "This is no longer the house that it once was." The redhead left them, going to the front door and opening it soundlessly. That is, until the ruckus from outside suddenly burst in. The remaining three hurried after Gaara to see what was going on just beyond the walls of the old house.

Near the stables, Kankurou was doing his best to fight off a swarm of Orochimaru's cronies. Farther off, Sakura was crouched beside the barn, tending to someone who sat against the red exterior for support. Baki sported several wounds on his arms and torso, seemingly inflicted by a riding crop. His face was dirty, and his otherwise well-muscled chest looked old and frail. He drank greedily from Sakura's canteen.

Kankurou noticed them and retreated back ten feet to stand with them. "About time," he commented sharply. Reloading his pistols, Kankurou tore holes in his opponents in the next wave of shots, but Orochimaru's forces continued to pour from inside the stable.

"Found a nest, did you?" Naruto asked, still a little pale, but grinning in spite of he dozens of men that fell before the Grave Robber.

"Heh," Kankurou chuckled in forced humor. "You guys planning on helping, or what?"

At that, Gaara and Temari prepared their own guns and began firing at anything in an Oto uniform. The shots continued back and forth, but, being the superior gunmen, the siblings didn't allow any of the Oto soldiers to get close enough to take accurate shots.

Shikamaru and Naruto joined Sakura behind the cover of the barn, and the blond watched restlessly as his Desert comrades fought. He felt completely useless, and upon voicing this helpless feeling, Shikamaru thrust a revolver into Naruto's hands.

"If you're so worried, go do something about it." Of course, Shikamaru had thought that Naruto might actually run out and _do_ it.

But, then again, they didn't call Naruto unpredictable for nothing.

Naruto hit nothing in his first five shots, but just as an enemy almost got lucky and hit Gaara while he was reloading, Naruto's final shot killed Gaara's would-be murderer. Though impressed, the redhead saved his praise for when the battle was won.

As the numbers quickly dwindled, the more cowardly of the ranks were forced out, surrendering just as soon as their faces came into the sunlight. One by one, they discarded their weapons and dropped to their knees, babbling about their families and listing why they should be spared. By the time the sun had set, there were countless dead bodies littering the gravely earth between the house and stable, as well as fifty-seven men who had willingly allowed themselves to be captured in order to avoid being killed. The Sand Siblings debated lining them all up and killing them, anyway, but Shikamaru suggested letting them keep their jobs and simply taking command of them.

The newly-recruited Suna Settlement soldiers' first order was to remove the unconscious maid from the kitchen, then set the house ablaze. As the moonless night fell upon them, the fire that erased Orochimaru from their memories burned brightly.

* * *

**A/N: Ugh. Ignore this chapter. It doesn't exist. I already rewrote it three times—I give up!**

**Thanks for all of the lovely reviews and such thus far. I would love it if they kept coming, though. :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Wanted**

**Chapter 10:**

Leaving the rebuilding of the Sabaku home to be overseen by Baki, and the overseeing of Baki's health to a doctor from Ichor, Gaara, Temari, and Kankurou escorted the Konohans home.

Shikamaru explained the Gem to Tsunade, who rolled her eyes and glared at the Konoha elders for not being able to figure such a thing out themselves. For their bravery, Shikamaru, Naruto, Kiba and Chouji were allowed to bypass the hunt, and were given the mark of a man of the village. Temari, Kankurou, and Gaara were also made honorary members of the Konoha tribe. And Sakura, for her outstanding work as a healer, was rewarded with the title of head Medicine Woman.

The evening of their return, a feast was held in their honor.

"You know," Kankurou mumbled through a mouthful of food from his seat between Kiba and Sakura, "I might just stay here. I'm a member of the tribe now, so why not?"

"I must return to Suna," Gaara said from where he sat between Naruto and Temari. "I intend to turn it into the land that Grandfather would have wanted it to be." The two brothers then turned their eyes curiously to their sister, who had been unusually quiet during their ride back to Konoha.

"You're each planning on going separate ways?" she asked, clearly upset by their decisions.

"Yes, Temari. But don't let what we want to do sway your decision. What do _you_ want to do?" Gaara asked. Temari was ashamed by how much better Gaara, the youngest of them, was at being their big brother sometimes.

She didn't answer right away. Instead, she focused on her food, completely ignoring the talk around her. And she especially avoided meeting Shikamaru's gaze. But, as dinner wound down, she had no choice but to communicate with him eventually.

"You are welcome to stay with my family for as long as you're in the village," he told her. "My mom would probably like the female company," he added quickly.

"Thank you," she answered, staring at the fire that burned in front of her. "I plan on riding out first thing in the morning, though," she told him, but made sure that Gaara and Kankurou heard her as well. "Will you be going with me, Gaara?" she asked.

"I plan to stay here for a week or so before I go back to Suna," he informed her, then just barely managed to dodge a bear hug from Naruto.

As the debatably-idiotic blond gushed on about how great of friends he and Gaara were (their party suspected he had gotten a hold of the wine), Temari quietly excused herself, making her way toward the Naras' land slowly as she let her mind wander.

"It really is too bad you feel like you have to run away," Shikamaru said, coming up beside her. He watched her jaw clench as he goaded her. "I think we might have been friends."

"We are," she replied tensely. "As we should be after all we've been through together. I don't have to stay here to prove that I… To prove how I feel."

Shikamaru stopped, allowing her to get ahead of him. Women were so troublesome.

* * *

"It was nice to have met you, Temari," Sakura said, smiling up at the woman on the chestnut mare.

Temari, rifle strapped to her back and saddlebags full of provisions and gifts bestowed upon her by the generous people of Konoha, nodded back at the pink-haired medicine woman. Then she gave her brothers one last visual-hug each. (The Sabaku family weren't a particularly affectionate bunch.) It seemed that every person she had encountered while in Konoha was there to see her off. Except one.

The lazy Nara hadn't been in his home or anywhere near it when she had awoken that morning, and his parents had informed her that he had left before sunrise. He was probably sleeping somewhere, not caring that this might very well have been the last time they would see each other.

"I'll send word to Suna if I decide to settle elsewhere," she told Gaara. "Otherwise, I'll see you in a year or two." With that, she turned her mount around and began to trot from the village gates, staring ahead with hard eyes. She comforted herself with knowing that any other woman might have cried.

_That stupid, lazy Nara._

* * *

Shikamaru moved from where he had watched Temari's goodbyes from a distance, ambling up to the cloud of people that waved at her retreating back. In his jeans and the green, button-down, flannel shirt that she had gotten for him in the settlements, he watched her go, trying to decide if he should follow.

When he had gotten dressed, he had fully intended to go with her, but as he looked around the only home he had ever known, he wondered if he could really leave it all behind.

Gaara, ever the perceptive one, was the first to notice Shikamaru's arrival, and he turned to eye the inky-haired individual. They were both silent until Kankurou reached over and adjusted Shikamaru's hat.

"There," the ex-outlaw said with a smile. "Now you look like a _real_ cowboy."

Shikamaru mumbled a, "thanks," and looked back at Temari. She was almost a dot on the horizon. He wanted to kick himself for not being able to bring himself to go with her. "Not like she needs me," he muttered to himself. A pair of reins were set into his hand, and Shikamaru looked the Sabaku brothers in their eyes.

"Yes, she does," Gaara said, his voice authoritative and wise, and leaving no room for argument.

With a look at his mother and father who had also come to see Temari off, Shikamaru climbed up into the saddle of his horse. A reassuring nod from Chouji was the final push it took for him to shoot off at a gallop to catch up with the blonde.

It didn't take long before the sound of hooves thudding against the dirt reached Temari. She took a deep breath, afraid to let herself hope that it was who she wanted it to be, but unable to stop the thought from crossing her mind, regardless. Acknowledging that she was setting herself up for disappointment, she turned to look at her pursuer.

"Don't look at me like that," Shikamaru muttered as he slowed his horse to walk beside her.

She hid a grin. "Where do you think you're going?" she asked, feigning nonchalance.

"Following you, troublesome as it is."

"And who says I _want_ you to follow me?"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Honestly, I don't care if you _want_ me to follow you or not. I just left everything I've ever known behind me because I finally found something worth working for, and I'm not going to let it get away that easily."

Temari was silent, but she allowed herself to beam openly at him.

"So where are we going?" he asked her, and she turned her gaze back to the trail that would eventually bring them into the desert.

"It doesn't matter," she said. "Somewhere where the grass is greener, and the sky is bluer, and the rain is clearer. Or maybe somewhere dangerous and horrible."

He nodded, "Fine with me." He reached tentatively across the gap between them and eventually brought himself to grab her hand.

She laughed at the blush that spread across his cheeks, to which he argued that it was just the heat, but she let him hold her hand, anyway.

There was something comforting about thinking that this would be their lives from then on, and no matter where the sandy trails took them, or what obstacles they encountered, they'd have each other. And they'd bicker about everything and nothing, but still always be there for each other, and that would make any wasteland bearable.

* * *

**A/N: It's over. That's it. Granted, it wasn't my best work, but I'm still pretty happy with the ending.**

**Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed, favorited and added alerts!  
**


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